01/01/21: New Year's Eve and Day
Sue and I just had a low key New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Sue got an early start making her special lasagna for our New Year's Eve dinner.

New Year's Eve Day, Sue and I took Beau and met up with Steve and Cathy up on Birch Hill in New Durham. When we got back home, Sue got all the prep work done on her lasagna dinner, and we spent the rest of the day just relaxing.

New Year's Day, we were off again on another hike, this time up Sheepboro Road. Dinner was wonderful pot roast leftovers with a bottle of Robert Mondavi Chardonnay. It had been a long day, and so it was a relatively early shutdown for the evening.

01/03/20: Carol Passes
After so many years suffering from the effects of a lifetime of smoking, Sue's 84 year old aunt Carol passed away Sunday 01/03/21 in her sleep after being admitted to the hospital for phenomena.

Sue had always been close to Carol, and we had gone up many times to either just visit with her, or get her to doctor appointments. Up until a couple of years ago, Carol had been actively working on genealogical research on her family.

In fact, based on that research Sue and I headed out on Saturday 08/13/16 for an 8 day vacation and genealogical research project to Nova Scotia. Our guide for that trip was a huge and intricate family tree diagram Carol had created.

When Sue found out that Carol was a descendant of the landing of the Mayflower, she got the paper work together and paid for Carol's membership in the Mayflower Society, which she was so proud of.

We'll miss her a lot.

Carol indicating she was enjoying the ride we took her on.

The picture was taken on Sunday 09/20/20 when Sue and I took Carol on another foliage driving adventure through the mountains.

01/04/20: First Trading Day of the New Year
Monday January 4 I was back on the boards at my first day of trading in the New Year.

Chuck snapped this picture of me on his tv while watching my YouTube channel video, First FOREX Trades Of The New Year. That video is actually the 64th one I've recorded since starting the channel early last year. It was a busy year for sure.

01/06/20: Late Arrival Christmas Present!
Somehow in all of the mess of holiday postal deliveries, Chuck's Christmas present to us just arrived: Rose Family 2020: A Connection, and we couldn't have been more tickled to receive it!

In it is a compilation of pictures of all of us over the past year. Thanks so much for the time and effort it took to put this great memory together!

01/10/20: Just a Relaxing Sunday
Sue and I just had a relaxing Sunday to wind down from a busy week.

Pork Chops With Apple and Arugula

The highlight of the day was a special dinner we fixed: Pork chops with apple and arugula. What a great time we had fixing that. We did it in a rosemary, shallot and wine sauce over basil infused rice, and a side of sauteed carrots and shallots in a balsamic vinegar and garlic reduction sauce complemented with a nice bottle of Chardonnay while we listened to Neil Young's classic Old Man. Just doesn't get much better than that!

01/16/20: Sleet and Rain Storm Sweeps Over the Mountain
Though it snowed about a half inch during the night, we woke up to sleet and rain pelting against the side of the house driven by an angry wind.

But that didn't stop Sue from taking The Beau Dog out for his walk. I caught this picture of them heading for the car, with Sue proclaiming something about, "I'll hurt you if you post that!" Too good of a shot to worry about that....

Sue and The Beau Dog heading off in the storm for a walk in the woods.

01/19/20: Sunday Dinner Party For Two
Sunday 01/19/24 Sue and I had a wonderful day relaxing, and then working together while sipping a smooth bottle of Cabernet to prepare baked barbecue chicken with potato and mixed vegetables for dinner.

Sue caught this wonderful picture out of the kitchen window of sunrise through the trees.

We're very fortunate to be able to share a wonderful dinner, a bottle of wine, and a great fire going in the wood stove to take the chill out of the air.

01/24/20: Sunday Dinner Party For Two
After a relatively busy week of both of us doing "stuff", Sunday 01/24/21 I got an early fire going in the wood stove. The wind had been howling through the trees for a couple of days now, causing the temperature to dive to a blustery 9 degrees.

After popping a bottle of white bordeaux to have with some snacks Sue had prepared, we settled into the living room listening to music, and playing too many sets of backgammon to the point both of us were exhausted, though I ended up 9 down for the series, so I was the more worse off for it all.

For dinner I fixed Pan Roasted Chicken With Rosemary, Garlic, and White Wine from Marcella Hazan's classic Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking which Sue had given me for Christmas. I served that over a bed of parsley and thyme brown rice, and man was that good!

Pan Roasted Chicken With Rosemary, Garlic, and White Wine

Chuck sent this picture of him and Denise using our dinner gift card Christmas present to them.

01/28/20: Birthday Outing For Graham
Chuck sent me this picture of the family out for dinner pre-celebrating Grahams's birthday.

Graham, Denise, Braden, and Chuck

01/29/21: Barking At The Wolf Moon
There's a story as well as a few of Sue's great pictures behind me barking at the full Wolf Moon....

Me barking at the full Wolf Moon

01/31/21: Getting Ready For A Nor'easter
We had a Nor'easter barreling down on us Sunday 01/31/21, and so we just had to fix a meal to match it!

And, man — did it come out great! Pork chops and sage cooked in plumb tomatoes and butter with a side of oregano steamed asparagus over a bed of brown rice.

Everything cooking away, and it won't be long....

It was as great tasting as it looks!

02/02/21: Snowshoeing in a Nor'easter
So, Sue took The Beau Dog and me for a 2 mile snowshoeing trek through about 8 inches of snow off trail through the woods behind the house just as the Nor'easter was blowing itself out.

Sue and The Beau Dog lead the way out into the woods.

02/04/21: Hike Out to Rail Trail Waterfall
Thursday morning 02/04/21 Sue and I took Beau out for a walk to the waterfall along a branch of the local Rail Trail.

Massive frozen waterfall.

Great hand placed stone foundation for water wheel.

Though we could see the small streams flowing under the snow and ice, the waterfall itself was a massive, frozen icicle.

02/06/21: Cold and Snowy Saturday Beef Stew Dinner
First thing Saturday morning Saturday morning 02/06/21 Sue was at it cutting up vegetables, potatoes, beef, and all the other ingredients for a hearty winter beef stew for dinner.

Great New England winter evening for such a hearty meal and a little wine!

02/07/21: Snowshoeing on a Stormy Sunday
Sue and I went snowshoeing on a stormy Sunday out through the woods behind the house with Beau leaping through the drifts.

Heading out into the woods

02/09/21: Snowshoeing In Another Winter Storm
With a winter storm blowing down on us Tuesday 02/09/21, Sue took this picture of the house as we headed off into the woods to do some off the path snowshoeing with The Beau Dog.

Wood stove roaring during winter snow storm.

The Beau Dog up to his shoulders in the deep snow.

02/14/21: Relaxing Valentines Day
It was a pretty chilly Valentines Day Sunday 02/14/21, and so we had the wood stove going all day.

The height of the day was working together to fix a special dinner that we enjoyed with a wonderful bottle of wine.

02/17/21: Frosty Morning After Snow Storm
After sleeting and snowing all day Tuesday, we got up Wednesday morning to a bright and sunny, but frosty winterscape which Sue captured through the kitchen window.

02/21/21: Stormy Sunday Dinner Party For 2
Sue and I had a wonderful stormy Sunday dinner party for 2 02/21/21.

Dinner prep in full swing.

It had been a rough few days with bitter cold, and then a heavy sleet storm left a half inch of ice everywhere. And then it snowed again!

But that didn't interfere with getting our meal going!

02/28/21: Windy And Cold Days
Despite having a wonderful Dinner Party For Two, Sunday began a series of days with high winds and plunging temperatures.

Sue braving the wind and cold getting to work on her 'Snow Mia' sculpture.

03/03/21: Sue's New Ride
Wednesday 03/03/21 I drove Sue down to Exeter Subaru to pick up her new ride: a 2017 Subaru Impreza. Really nice car with only 46,000 miles.

03/07/21: Sunday Dinner Celebration
For our Sunday dinner, I made a special Chicken Bechamel for Sue. I served it over parsley infused pasta with asparagus sauteed in herbs and butter, and all was just wonderful.

Wood stove took the chill out of the air from the hard winter wind blowing against the side of the houe.

Warming ourselves by the wood stove before getting into some late afternoon backgammon.

Starting to serve up dinner.

The meal was not only to celebrate our 03/08/13 engagement, but also the first time we had a Bechamel sauce, which was during our Belfast, ME Trip 04/18/14.

03/12/21: Maybe Spring Is Starting? Maybe?

Friday 03/12: Just in the last couple of days has at least 4 inches of snow melted away, but in some places we've lost 6. Spring must be close!

Saturday 03/13: Waiting in line to get our first COVID-19 vaccination shot.

Sunday 03/14: Sue and I took Beau for a walk in woods out behind the house, I fixed sauteed scallops in a fresh ginger root, cilantro, and rosemary sauce, and capped off the night with the 2020 cute true story, Penguin Bloom, for our movie of the night.

03/15/21: And So The Furnace Goes Out For Some Reason
Monday morning 03/15/21, we woke up to a pretty cold house. The temperature had dropped into single digits overnight, and the 35 mph winds had brought that down below zero. Of course: just a perfect time for that to happen, right? Right.

So, of COURSE, with the wind chill at 0 the furnace goes out during the night. Got up and pressed reset and it comes back on but not really staying on and not really heating the baseboards up enough to get the temp up to the called for temp on the thermostat. So, I called the oil company, and the service guy is on the way.

And to compound things, sue has doctor appointment this morning, so she was out early with beau. I get a sort of breathless call from her that beau spotted bunch of Turkey's, and took off after them through the woods. She's been calling for him, and afraid that his travels could put him out on a road. So, she needs me to come help try to find him. Fortunately as I was walking through the woods calling for him, sue called and said he had returned. Little shit.....

To compensate for all of these mini disasters, we decided that dinner should then be Taco Monday!

03/17/21: Happy St. Patrick's Day From The Mountain!
With all that's going on in the world right now, Sue and I just had a quiet day celebrating St. Patrick's Day.

Mia all decked out for St. Patrick's Day!

Our St. Patrick's Day celebration was a ham dinner that I made up a brown sugar, ground cloves, deli mustard, thyme, and port wine glaze for, and Sue fixed some potatoes. Simple, and in the spirit of things.

03/21/21: Spring Melt Walk Along Mad River
Sunday 03/21/21 Sue took Beau and me for a nice walk along the dirt road running parallel to Mad River. The river was just churning around its many bends, and was so nice to hear.

Beau leading the way ahead for Sue.

The Mad River churning around still ice crusted bankings.

It's just short of a mile to the bridge, but it took what seemed forever because of the ice on the road. There were areas where the snow had melted, but many where the ice was really slippery. Sue had her tracks on, but I didn't as I had figured the ice would have cleared by now. It hadn't, and the going was pretty tough for much of the hike.

We turned around at the bridge, and headed back. Not far, there's a trail off the road that we took, and hiked up to the first ridge. Sue showed me a snowmobile trail that runs along the ridge which goes back to our starting point. We could catch glimpses of the river as we walked, but could hear the rushing of the water all the time. There were some icy patches, but not as many as down on the road.

03/22/21: Short Vacation Break For Chuck and Denise
Chuck sent the following picture of them just after arriving in Longboat Key, Florida for a few days of respite from the harsh Illinois winter.

03/23/21: Spring Starting To Spring

03/24/21: First Contact
Sunday 03/24/2019 I got Chuck's email, and it's been quite the experience since!

Denise, Sue, Me, and Chuck during his first visit out 04/25/19 having dinner at the waterfront in Portsmouth, NH.

03/25/21: Spring Still Springing!

03/26/21: Spring Springing In The Fog....

03/28/21: Just 1 small patch of snow left!

In preparation for Easter, Sue wanted to try to paint Easter Eggs in a traditional Slovenian manner.

Slovenian Easter Eggs Patterned With Onion Skins

She took several red onions, peeled off the outer skin layer, and cooked them in boiling water to form the dye. The technique is to then wrap the eggs in pine branches, or other small leaves, wrap it in a paper towel, and then secure it all somehow together.

It was the securing part that we just didn't have down because the next step was to cook the eggs in the dye. Well, we'll give it another try again at some point because we know what not to do now!

04/01/21: April Fools Day Snow Dusting
We woke up Thursday morning 04/01/21 to an April Fools Day snow dusting! Yup. April First....

April Fools Day Snow Dusting

04/02/21: Beau Chases Bobcat
Not impressed with The Beau Dog today.

Sue was outside with Beau when she — and of course Beau — saw a bobcat dash out of the woods off the side of the house, and leap over the berm and into the woods across the road.

Beau took off on full tilt in hot pursuit.

I could hear Sue yelling for him to come back, but obviously he wasn't interested in that as he had the chase on his devious little cranium. He finally came back, but that was a close call for The Beau Dog....

As punishment, Beau didn't get any of our Friday Night Pizza! Of course, he's only a doggggg, and didn't grasp the connection between not getting some pizza with the bobcat chase, but he still wasn't getting any pizza!

Friday night pizza!

04/04/21: Easter
Sue and I took Beau for an 04/04/21 Easter morning walk along the Mad River. Beautiful day, though chilly as temps had dropped into the upper 30s during the night.

Still snow on top of Mt. Washington Easter Sunday!

04/10/21: A Winter Recap
It's been quite the winter up her on our little mountain, and so I thought I'd provide a quick look back at this past season.....

12/05/20 First Nor'easter of the season.

04/10/21 Spring Hath Sprung!

04/11/21: What Would A Raccoon And Bottle of Bordeaux Have In Common?
As Sue was on the way out the door this Sunday morning 04/11/21 she poked her head back in the door. She called out that a raccoon had got caught in a trap I had set for a porcupine that Beau had almost had an encounter with.

A very pissed off raccoon.

While she was gone, I went out with heavy wood gloves to deal with him. Raccoons only come around looking for easy food, and will then wander off somewhere else, and are otherwise good neighbors. But if they get cornered, they can be extremely nasty, so I was going to have to be very careful with him.

I held the cage as far from me as I could while I walked back in the woods with the raccoon snarling at me the whole time as he tried to thrash his way out of the cage. I tried to explain the situation to him, but he was totally pissed off. And he stayed pissed off as he charged out of the cage and into the woods when I carefully opened the trap door.

Yeah, you just don't want to mess with a pissed off raccoon....

I had fixed up a nice baked ham for dinner, and when we sat down to eat we toasted him with an inexpensive Bordeaux that I had bought - which actually went quite nicely with the ham.

A little bordeaux with dinner.

04/14/21: First Pizza Of The Season Around The Fire Pit
We had such a nice visit Wednesday 04/14/21 with Colin and Swayzie sitting around the fire pit for the first time, enjoying pizza and a couple of beers

First pizza of the season around the fire pit

But as the sun started to drop to the horizon, the air became so chilly that we all decided to retreat inside. If they would have been able to stay later, I would have probably got a fire going in the wood stove, it was that chilly.

04/16/21: Late Spring Snow
Wow! Friday April 16th we woke up to several inches of wet, heavy snow that had fallen overnight.

9:00am Friday morning snow.

It continued to snow lightly all day, leaving about 4 inches on the ground and in the woods all around us. If the temperature had been just a little lower, it probably would have been 6 or 8 inches.

04/17/21: Mia Comes For An Overnight Visit!
Sue, Beau, and I picked up Mia for an overnight visit Saturday morning 04/17/21.

Sue getting Mia into her warm hiking gear.

We had told Marissa to get Mia bundled up for a walk in the snow and cold, but once we got down to the bottom of our little mountain the ground was bare of snow, and just soaked from a cold rain. But Mia would need that gear for the walk out to the waterfall on the rail trail we had told her we'd go on before heading for home.

We had a wonderful overnight visit with her, and look forward to many more.

04/20/21: New Surround Sound System Installed
Tuesday 04/20/21 was an exciting event: The Geek Squad came out to set up our new surround sound system, and it's a wonderful thing.

Getting the system set up.

Maverick

Top Gun in 4k, 5.1 surround with the volume UP!

I'm glad I had it installed as I would not have been able to figure any of that out without an extreme amount of frustration. Rachel and Ben of the local Geek Squad made short work of it, and left us with a great system.

To celebrate, the movie of the night was the classic 1986 Tom Cruise action masterpiece, Top Gun turned up very, very loud, of course!

04/22/21: Late April Snow Squall
Winter just doesn't want to go away peacefully from our little mountain! We woke up to light snow showers that turned into a very brief, but pretty snow squall.

Late April Snow Squall

04/24/21: Wood Delivered
Spring is a great time to get next year's wood delivered, and so I called Nate last week. He swung by today with 3 cords, dropped, and stacked it for me. And what a work of art his stacking was!

It was just cut today, and so will season there until not this coming October, but the following. I have 3 cords he delivered before that will be used this year.

04/26/21: The Beau Dog Gets Buff
After taking The Beau Dog to the groomer to get a shampoo and trim for the summer, we headed off for a day trip up into the Ossipee lakes area, and a visit with Sue's brother, Alan.

The buff Beau Dog sits tall in the saddle.

04/30/21: Friday Night and Homemade Pizza!
We haven't done a homemade pizza in a long, long time, and so when Sue mentioned it: it was like of course let's do that!

Homemade pizza and a glass of wine. It really just doesn't get much better than that!

With great care and excitement, I helped Sue make up a pizza with sweet Italian sausage, pizza sauce, mixed cheeses, parsley, and her homemade zucchini pickles. That and some nice wine was all we needed for the perfect night.

Welllll, actually, it did get just a teeny-tiny-bittty-bit better.... She hadn't seen the 2016 movie, London Has Fallen, and so we did that with our new Yamaha 5.1 Dolby surround sound system up appropriately!

05/02/21: Busy Sunday
Sunday 05/02/21 was forecast to hit 69, and even though it was still below 50 from overnight, Sue and I took our breakfasts out onto the screen porch as the start to what would be a busy Sunday 05/02/21 for us.

First breakfast of the season on the screen porch.

05/03/21: Tick check!
At the end of the day, Sue takes Beau out onto the screen porch, and tells him, "Tick check!" And down he goes onto the floor, rolls onto his side, and sticks his paws into the air. He loves it.

Tick check!

05/05/21: Out To La Corona For A Cinco de Mayo Lunch!
Sue had a margarita on the brain, and so we went out to a local Mexican restaurant, La Corona, for lunch to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, which I understand is celebrated more here in the U.S. than it is in Mexico....

05/06/21: Spring Yard Clean Up
It had been a pretty brutal winter with lots of branches broken and down. Nick from A Sharper Image Landscape came over Thursday 05/06/21 for a spring yard clean up.

Spring Yard Clean Up

05/08/21: Mia Comes For A Sleepover!
Saturday morning 05/08/21 Sue and I drove down to Dover to pick up Mia for a sleepover.

Gramps and Mia waiting for Sue to finish taking a picture of the waterfalls along the Rail Trail.

We thought we'd give Marissa a break before Mother's Day to relax with Gary and maybe go out Saturday evening. We had a great visit with her!

05/11/21: First Grass Cut of the Season!
Nick from A Sharper Image Landscape swung by mid afternoon Tuesday 05/11/21 to do our first grass cut of the season as it was getting just a little long....

First Grass Cut of the Season!

05/13/21: Overnight Snowfall On Mt. Washington
Sue got this terrific picture of a snow capped Mt. Washington. And it's the middle of May....

View of the snowfall from last night on Mt. Washington.

05/14/21: Sue's Favorite Past Time — Diggin' In The Dirt
Sue has been chomping at the bit to get out into her gardens to dig in the dirt, and took the beautiful weather today to do just that!

Wheelbarrow loaded and ready for action.

Sue on the move.

Tough work though with all of the stooping over every plant.... or so says The Beau Dog

05/15/21: Chuck And Family Visit
We had a marvelous week long visit with Chuck, Denise, and Graham starting 05/15/21 through 05/23.

05/20/21: Relaxing In The Yard
It was such a nice day Thursday 05/20/21 that I took my current book, Jane Austin's Sense And Sensibility, and headed outside to enjoy reading in the warmth of the sun.

Enjoying the day outside reading Jane Austin's Sense And Sensibility.

05/24/21: Kayaking Brindle Pond and Seeing Chuck Off
Chuck put his trip back home off a day, and so was able to come up for a couple of hours Monday afternoon. That worked out perfectly as we had planned to kayak Brindle Pond with Steve and Cathy late morning.

Sue managing the launch process.

What a perfect day!

Sue totally in her element!

Chuck took this picture of us waving good-by as he pulled the car out of the driveway.

RDGS — Retired And Don't Give A Shit

05/26/21: Overdue Mowing!
Because of the recent rain, the grass just sprang up all over the place - some patches were 6 inches! Nick was amazed when he came to cut it, and suggested I go from every other week to once a week until things calmed down!

Nick getting it done!

Famous Snow Depth Chair

05/27/21: Roof Replacement
The crew from Armor Metal Roofing showed up early Friday morning 05/27/21 to pull all of the shingles off our roof, and replace it with a new standing seam metal roof.

It didn't take long for the crew to get the drop tarps hung, and to start stripping off the shingles as Glenn, the owner of Armor Metal Roofing, checks the site at 8:50 am.

05/29/21: Memorial Day Weekend
Sue and I had a nice quiet Memorial Day Weekend. Friday evening we were invited up to Butch and Jen's new house for a cook out — slabs of meat on the grill with beer. Can't get much better than that!

Sue really scrambled to get this picture when the sky lit up as the sun began to drop below the horizon!

As you'll see from the pictures on the linked page, sunset was spectacular.

06/05/21: Mia's Lacrosse Game
Sue and I were finally able to get to one of Mia's Lacrosse Games, which actually was the last one of the season.

Mia on the move!

06/07/21: Afternoon At The Ocean
Late Monday morning 06/07/21 Sue and I headed off for an afternoon at the ocean.

Sue foraging for 'stuff' along the shore at Bass Beach

06/09/21: Marissa Birthday Dinner Out
To celebrate Marissa's birthday, Sue and I met up with her, Gary, and Mia at an English style pub in Dover for dinner, and some fun playing keno.

Marissa showing me how to play keno.

Gary ran tickets all evening for us.

Another spectacular sunset as we headed for home.

06/10/21: Mia's Kindergarten Graduation
Sue and I were so excited to watch Mia's Kindergarten Graduation Thursday afternoon 06/10/21.

Proud parents Marissa, and Gary with Mia.

06/06/21: Sunday Fun
It was just a really relaxing Sunday. The weather was really nice, though on the warm side. But I did spend quite awhile reading outside, with just the faintest of cooling breezes around me.

And we have large swaths of clover springing up around the yard again this year.

You can just barley see the brook through all of the vegetation that's grown up.

Marvelous Sunday dinner of ground Italian sausage, black trumpet mushrooms (which Sue had picked wild while on one of her walks), onions, and fresh ginger root over a bed of rice and side of steamed broccoli.

06/08/21: Stocking Up On Welmoed Chenin Blanc
Soooooo... awhile back I had stumbled onto a clearance sale of a South African Welmoed Chenin Blanc, and had bought several bottles as they were really inexpensive. Sue and I both thought it was a nice, smooth wine; nothing special or great, but just a nice wine.

And so the next week when we went back to the store we saw that the price had been reduced, and so we bought several more bottles. Terrific!

But then several days later Sue had to stop into the store to pick some things up, and not only were there some bottles left, but the price had been reduced again!

She said, "...it must be a sign," scooped up the last of them, and so we now have a dozen bottles racked and ready.

Our stash of Welmoed Chenin Blanc

06/10/21: Pine Mountain Hike
I had to drop my car off at the shop to have the muffler pipe replaced, and so Sue and The Beau Dog followed me down in her car so we could continue on for a hike up Pine Mountain.

Yeah, that muffler needs some love...

Beautiful day at the top of Pine Mountain — not windy, cold, or hot; just right!

06/12/21: Mia Visit!
Late Saturday afternoon 06/12/21, I met Marissa in Rochester, and scooped up Mia for a 2 day visit!

Mia helping Sue make the naan bread pizzas we were having for dinner.

06/15/21: A Rainbow And Sunset
Just a few great pictures Sue got of a rainbow and sunset....

06/16/21: Birthday Celebration
Sue had asked what I wanted to do for my birthday celebration, and I said that I'd like to have a nice dinner out at Shibley's At The Pier in Alton Bay.

Earlier in the day, Sue took me strawberry picking at Butternut Farm. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, and with just a touch of a nice breeze. Couldn't have been any nicer. And, we picked 5 containers of some of the best strawberries I think we've ever had from there.

Colin and Swayzie swung by the house around 4:30 before we all headed over to Shibley's at 5:30 to meet up with Marissa and Gary. We all had just the best time.

06/19/21: Gail Visits
Saturday 06/19/21 Sue's great friend Gail came for an overnight visit.

06/20/21: Father's Day
The kid's had given me a large package of specialty meats from a local restaurant and deli, and I asked them over Sunday the 20th for a Father's Day cook out.

06/23/21: Kayaking On The Salmon Falls River
Sue and I got a late start Wednesday 06/23/21 to go kayaking on the Salmon Falls River in Berwick, ME. I couldn't find a couple of my ratchet straps. I had one, and some other tie down gear, but once we got going we just didn't like it. So, we stopped at a local hardware store, and bought a set, re-did everything, and were on the water around 1:30pm for a late lunch.

Passing old railroad bridge

Bridge crossing into Berwick, ME.

06/26/21: Mia's 6th Birthday Party
We had a great visit with everyone celebrating Mia's 6th Birthday Party!

Mia is 6!!!

07/04/21: 4th of July Weekend
We had a pretty low key 4th of July Weekend, and glad that we hadn't planned anything because it rained for literally days....

Enjoying a great marinated steak, some early corn, and a nice glass of Cabernet Sunday the 4th.

07/06/21: Sunday Dinner Fish On The Grill!
It had been such a beautiful day that Sue thought we should grill out. She had stopped at the fish market, and based on a recommendation from the owner had bought some snapper cod.

Ready to hit the grill!

Interesting, and it turned out just great, complemented with a nice bottle of white wine.

07/07/21: Early Dinner Out
Because it was such a beautiful Summer day, Sue and I decided that we'd get out of the house, and go out for an early dinner.

Yup, this is nice.

Thai spiced pork chop with bang-bang sauce over mashed potatoes.

07/10/21: Kayaking on Gilman Pond
After heavy thunder storms yesterday, Saturday 07/10/21 broke out into a bright sunny day so we went kayaking on Gilman Pond in Alton, NH.

We had a nice lunch that Sue had packed up for us, resting our kayaks up against a fallen tree in the shade of other surrounding trees hanging out over the water from the rocky shore of the pond.

07/11/21: Beautiful Sunday and Great Dinner
Sunday 07/11/21 proved to be another spectacularly nice Summer day, and a terrific backdrop for my on-the-fly Sunday Dinner Party For Two!

The little solar powered fountain has been spewing a geyser all day.

07/13/21: Alan And Kathleen Visit
Tuesday 07/13/21 Alan and Kathleen drove down to visit and ended up staying for dinner. We ended up having so much fun — Kathleen helped Sue recover one of our iron porch chairs — that because it was late afternoon, we asked them to stay for dinner.

Alan and I drove down to the local meat market and bought garlic and sesame marinated chicken, and a bottle of 1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel Aged Zinfandel. Alan bought desert: a freshly baked caramel cheesecake to die for.

The story of Alan and Kathleen is really special: they met and dated 55 years ago, and then went their separate ways. Two weeks ago they found each other after such a long time, and have been inseparable since. They make movies about stuff like this! Sue and I are soooo happy for them.

07/16/21: Drive To Webster, NH
In Search of Special Day Lilies Sue and I set out late Saturday morning 07/16/21 to drive over to Webster, NH to see if we could find the Milkan Corner Farm.

With 400 varieties of registered lilies, Sue was looking for a couple she had heard about. In addition to lilies, they also had PYO raspberries, blueberries, and currants, and so Sue picked a container of raspberries, and blueberries.

They also had a basket shop with so many artfully crafted hand woven baskets, each with a nice story that we enjoyed listening to the owner talk about. I bought a nice close weave one with early 1800s horseshoe handles.

07/18/21: Gail Comes For Overnight Visit
Sunday 07/18/21 Gail came for an overnight visit, and so we had to have a party!

I grilled up a couple of pounds of marinated beef tips on the grill that we had with a terrific Mexican salad that Sue had made up.

After walking Beau Monday morning, Sue and Gail packed up and headed off for a 'girls gone wild' in Lincoln, NH. Tuesday, I drove over and swaped cars with Gail, and Sue and I drove back home in her car.

07/20/21: Flowers Blooming From Rain
I hadn't checked out Sue's front flower garden in several days, so I was shocked to see how many new day lilies had blossomed!

07/22/21: Celebrating 100 YouTube Subscribers
I had just posted my 122nd Longwood Currency Trading video on line (FOREX Trading And Life Advice For 21 to 34 Year Olds) when the number of current subscribers to my channel hit 100! Who woulda-thunk....

On the spur of the moment, we decided that how many times is that going to happen, and so we decided to head off for an early dinner out on the outside deck of one of our local restaurants.

After getting back from dinner, we were watching some tv when Sue jumped up onto the sofa, looked out the window, and announced, "Quick! To the car! Sunset in the making up on the ridge!" and she was in motion for the door. We just barely caught the end of it, but Sue took a few really nice shots.

07/23/21: Cars To Louden For Underside Oil
Friday 07/23/21 Sue and I drove our cars to Louden, NH for underside oil preventative work.

While each car was being worked on, we took the other car and went exploring around the area to a large flower distributor, and to visit Sue's friend Linda who has some beautiful day lily gardens.

07/24/21: Blueberry Picking Hiking Up Little Blue Job
Sue asked if I wanted to go with her and Beau blueberry picking hiking up Little Blue Job. It was a beautiful day, and so off we went!

07/25/21: Lucas Arrives From Pasadena For Long Visit
I drove down to Boston's Logan International Airport Sunday to pick Sue's son Lucas up from his midnight flight in from Pasadena, CA for a few weeks visit back here.

Don't see much in this picture do you? Yeah, well it's midnight so I got the best shot I could....

A sleepy Lucas waiting in baggage claim for his things to arrive.

There was not only major work being done to 95 on the drive back, but there were heavy patches of fog in places, as well as both on Routes 16 and 11. On Route 11, as well as the road up the small mountain we live on, the fog was so thick in spots that I had to slow to 20 mph because visibility was only about as far as the front of the car.

We didn't get home until about 2:15 am. Beau must have woken Sue up because as Lucas and I walked into the screen porch, we could see her smiling face pressed against the glass of the kitchen door. Now, that was the picture I should have gotten!

Believe me that we were all crashed into bed not long after 2:30 am. I didn't get up until about 9:30 am Monday morning, and Lucas stayed down until noon. It's not only a long flight out, but just the scramble of getting to the L.A. airport is enough to wear you out.

So, Monday was just a basically lay low day, though I fixed up a marvelous dinner of garlic and oregano rubbed chicken in a creamy fresh garden basil sauce with butter and oregano steamed green beans, also fresh out of Sue's garden. We capped the evening off with the really good 2020 Chris Hemsworth action movie, Extraction.

07/30/21: Friday Night Home Made Pizza
Can't get much better than some off the cuff home made pizza for a Friday night dinner!

Ready for the oven

Lucas is all set to get on with it.

08/04/21: Sunset up on the ridge
So, Sue and I are sitting in the living room watching a movie when she jumps up on the sofa, looks out at the sky, and as she bounds off the sofa heading toward the door she exclaims: "Picture event! To the car!" Beau was first one out the door with her with me not far behind.

08/07/21: Overnight Visit With Gail
Our friend Gail came for an overnight visit. And so for dinner I fixed a herb spiced chicken over Basmati rice.

08/11/21: Alan Comes Down
Sue's brother Alan came down to have a visit with Lucas and ended up staying for dinner. Great visit!

Lucas, Sue, and Alan

Beau finds a turkey feather

08/13/21: Sue Takes Lucas On A Book Explore
Sue and Lucas headed off to Lee, NH to visit the new location of the Avenue Victor Hugo Books, and had a great time.

The shop has such a wonderful feeling among the tall wooden cases filled with interesting books.

08/16/21: Kayaking Dinner On Merrymeeting River
Late Monday afternoon 08/16/21, Sue and I loaded the kayaks on top of the car and headed off for a kayaking dinner on the Merrymeeting River.

08/19/21: Final Dinner Out With Lucas
Thursday evening 08/19/21 Sue and I took Lucas out for a wonderful dinner at the 1793 historic Gilmanton Pub. Though we had a really enjoyable evening with wonderful food, it was sad that he'd be flying out of Boston Friday evening to Logan International airport to head back to L.A.

08/22/21: Stormy Sunday Night
Because Sunday 08/22/21 was such a blustery and rainy night, Sue and I just hunkered down and enjoyed a wonderful evening together, though The Beau Dog was a little unsettled because of the weather.

Beau at rest....

For a cold and stormy night, a bottle of Josh Cabernet was in order.

08/24/21: Minor Effects From Hurricane Ida
After ripping through Louisiana, Hurricane Ida surged over land all the way up through the far north east doing huge damage along the way, particularly New York and New Jersey, let alone the destruction in Louisiana itself where it had made direct landfall.

Shot of Sue's screen porch entry way flower garden in the bright sunny light of the day after the storm passed.

Fortunately for us, the brunt of the storm swung sharply eastward south of us, and out into the ocean.

08/27/21: Gail Comes For Overnight Visit
We were glad to have our friend Gail come and stay overnight with us Friday 08/27/21. A great excuse for a party, though we kept it fairly low key. Sue and Gail spent the afternoon pricing items they were going to display for sale way, way too early Saturday morning at a local antique shop they have a stall at.

At work on the porch pricing some items.

Homemade pizzas and fresh picked local corn for dinner with a nice bottle of Chardonnay.

08/28/21: Mia Comes For An Overnight Visit
When Sue finished up at the antique shop with Gail Saturday morning 08/28/21, she met up with Marissa to bring Mia back to the house for an overnight visit.

Mia parked with a magazine in the kitchen window seat just like Sue does all the time.

08/31/21: Beautiful End Of August Evening
Sue took some lovely pictures of the beautiful end of August evening 08/31/21 we had up on the mountain.

09/02/21: Chuck Visits
Sue and I were so happy to welcome Chuck back for a visit. I drove over to the airport in Manchester, NH to pick him up from his 3:00 pm flight in from Chicago, and had a great chat on the way over to the house. For dinner, Sue had made a delicious homemade lasagna that we enjoyed with what turned out to be a wonderful bottle of Omen Cabernet Sauvignon.

Though he slept over at Marissa's in Dover each night, he was with us Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and then spent all day Sunday and Labor Day Monday with Colin, Marissa and all going out eating and boating. He rejoined up with us for a late brunch Tuesday, and then I drove him back over to Manchester for his early evening flight back to Chicago.

We missed him before he even got into the car to head for the airport.

09/08/21: Pizza Visit Up To Alan's Camp On Ossipee Lake
Wednesday afternoon 09/08/21 Sue and I took The Beau Dog with us up for a visit to her brother's camp on Ossipee Lake. He had asked us up as he and Kathleen would be there, and we said we'd bring pizza. Can't get any better than pizza at the lake!

Alan, Kathleen, Sue, and The Beau Dog out on the porch overlooking Ossipee Lake.

Sue got this great shot through the living room window of the little island just off their cove.

View of the island from the outside porch.

09/10/21: Friday Night Backgammon And Wine On The Hill
Though bright and sunny late Friday afternoon 09/10/21, the wind was chilly enough that I wore my fleece jacket up to the sitting area on the hill out back. But once I sat down, the sun was so hot that I peeled it off, toasted Sue with my glass of wine, and dove into some serious backgammon.

And serious it was because she beat me like a rug. I ended up 32 points down. That's just a shit-house full of bat-ju-ju to hang over me through the next 5 days until we played the final week's games out on Wednesday.

I was able to come back some, but still ended up 11 points behind for the week. That was 5 days of humiliating play for me for sure, and I believe a new daily session points down record.

Gotta get Sue drinking a little more wine I think. Or should it be less.... I dun-no-me-you, but surely a bad beat story that should bring tears to your eyes....

09/12/21: Apple Picking At Butternut Farm
It was such a beautiful September day that Sue and I went apple picking at Butternut Farm.

09/17/21: Around The Fire Pit
It had been soooo long since we had gotten together with Steve and Cathy that we invited them over Friday night 09/17/21 for home made pizzas. Cathy had brought a yummy pumpkin pie she had made that we enjoyed outside sitting around the fire pit and watching the stars.

09/18/21: Mia Overnight Visit
We had Mia for another short overnight visit Saturday 09/18/21.

Sue had wanted to get Mia onto the pottery wheel that she had bought her at Christmas before the weather turned too cold to do it out in the barn. Good thing she made it over because the weather over the next week was not only really chilly, but many - most - days were rainy.

Sue occupied her for most of the time, and they just had so much fun. Since Sue was so busy doing stuff with her, I was in charge of taking pictures.

09/19/21: Kayaking On Downing Pond
The days are starting to get crispy, many with rain, and so we took the opportunity Sunday morning 09/19/21 to go kayaking on Downing Pond.

09/21/21: Harvest Moon Setting
When Sue headed out Tuesday morning 09/21/21 to take Beau for a walk, she pulled over at the top of the ridge to take this picture of the Harvest Moon setting behind her, and casting its glow across a very fogged in valley below.

09/24/21: Dinner At The Ellacoya Barn & Grille
Sue caught this interesting shot out through the window where we were sitting at the Ellacoya Barn & Grille in Gilford, NH where we had gone to dinner Friday 09/24/ with Jen and Butch.

We had thought it wouldn't be crowded not only because of how early we went at just after 5:00pm, but also because foliage season is still literally weeks away because of the current series of only mildly cool night temperatures.

We were surprised that the parking lot was packed by the time we got there, and told that there could be almost an hour wait for a table. However, it wasn't too long after we had gone into the bar area to get drinks and wait, that we got called to a table.

It had been a long time since our last time to the Ellacoya, and Jen and Butch's first visit. The food was great, service friendly and prompt, and they kept the number of people in the main restaurant areas to a reasonable level. It was only when we finished dinner and walked out through the waiting area that we encountered a huge back log of people that extended outside.

On the way out, I heard that the expected wait time was up to an hour and a half! Had it been like that when we arrived, we wouldn't have stayed.

09/26/21: Sunday Dinner Party For Two
We fixed an absolutely great, on-the-fly Sunday dinner of oven baled pork loin rubbed with ground black pepper, basil, cilantro, and garden picked fresh parsley on a bed of basmati rice cooked in parsley infused water, green peas, and garden tomatoes.

09/30/21: Flight Night At Johnson's
Sue and I met up at Johnson's along Route 11 Thursday evening 09/30/21 with our friends Butch and Jen for dinner, and to sample their "Local Brewery Flight Night."

10/02/21: Cleaning Up Fallen Tree Limb
Took me a lot longer to drop, and then clean up all the smaller branches from a large tree limb that had fallen. We've had a few really windy and stormy days, and this big limb broke off, and got hung up in another tree's branches in a very dangerous position.

So, the first thing I had to do was figure out how to get it untangled from the other tree because it was really a large, long limb. Thing caught me a little as I shoved it free, falling to the ground exactly where I thouhght it would with a tremendous thump.

Wore myself out trying to cut it up with my bow saw, so just got it into thirds along with all the other branches, and dragged it all over to the side of the barn to mess with later, or maybe in the Spring as I'll cut it and use it for the wood stove next year.

10/02/21: Colin Stops By
Colin was in the area Saturday 10/02/21 on his way to deliver propane somewhere, and stopped by for a short visit. Was really good to see him, and that he took the time to swing by.

10/03/21: Surprise Birthday Party For Alan
Kathleen and Karen organized a surprise birthday party for Sue's brother Alan Sunday 10/03/21 up in Ossipee, NH.

Couldn't have been a nicer day; just a little crispness to the air, but the sun was out. Karen set up tables and chairs in her backyard, and got her fire pit going as folks started arriving.

It was nice to see how surprised and happy Alan was when Kathleen pulled the car up out front and he saw everyone waiting for him.

Karen has only been living here for a couple of months after buying it from Sue who inherited it from her Aunt Carol. So nice to keep the place in the family where we had so many fond memories of being with Carol to now come and see it being enjoyed by Karen.

10/07/21: Morning Fog Over The Valley
I stopped around 9:30 am Thursday morning 10/07/21 at the top of the ridge to get this stunning shot of the thick fog blanketing the valley.

I was on my way to meet Sue to change cars, and bring The Beau Dog back after she walked him, and just couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Though we're having a late start to the foliage season, it's finally here in all its spectacular beauty.

10/08/21: Fall Kayaking On The River
Sue and I met up with Steve and Cathy at 1:00 pm on Friday afternoon 10/08/21 at the launch area just off Route 11 to experience some wonderful Fall weather on the river.

The last time Sue and I had been here was for a Kayaking Dinner On Merrymeeting River back in August, so it was nice to see the change to the Fall foliage.

We went pretty far up, about an hour or so, before heading back for the landing. On the way, we asked Steve and Cathy if they'd like to come back to our place around 5:30 at dusk, sit around the fire pit, and have some pizza with us.

It was just starting to get chilly when they arrived, so I got the fire pit going. Cathy had bought a mixed berry pie that we enjoyed later in the dark.

On the way back from kayaking, we had stopped off at the store so I could get a bottle of wine to go with the pizza. I was surprised to find they had 1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel Aged Zinfandel. I'd had their Cabernet, and it was really good for the price, so thought this was well worth trying, and bought a couple of bottles of it. And it was really a great wine for a $16 price point.

10/09/21: Quick Visit and Coffee With the Nancarrows
My karate disciple, and now Master Jim Nancarrow and his wife Chris dropped off for a short visit Saturday 10/09/21. They had driven up the other day from Florida for a quick few day visit with family. Fortunately we got a chance to see them for a too brief coffee visit on their way up to Portland, ME for the day.

Though warm during the day, the early evening brought on some really chilly weather. I decided that was a great excuse to light up the wood stove for the first time of the season! Sue and I enjoyed its warmth with some wine while we played several sets of backgammon before dinner.

10/10/21: Fall Adventures
Sunday morning 10/10/21 Sue and I decided to take Beau for a walk along the Mad River, and then drive around a little to see some of the colors of the leaves changing.

Trail along the Mad River

Antique shop visit.

Back to the house late morning for our own foliage display.

Sunday Dinner For Two prep with wine; our favorite time together each week.

Couldn't get much better than this; we're very, very fortunate, and are thankful each day.

10/11/21: Walking Beau On Sheepboro Road
The air was crisp and very 'autumn-ish' Monday 10/11/21, so we took Beau for a walk over on Sheepboro Road.

Picture of the dam across the pond from Sheepboro Road.

Picture of the dam after hiking in.

Sue and Beau taking a picture of the foliage across the pond.

10/12/21: Late October Afternoon Autumn Display
Sue caught some wonderful pictures of the Autumn sun blanketing the house as it began to drop toward the tree line on a beautiful late October afternoon 10/13/21, and then another spectacular sunset picture from the top of the ridge.

Late afternoon sun on the house.

This taken just a few minutes later as it fell behind the tops of the trees.

From the top of the ridge.

10/13/21: Anniversary Fall Foliage Trip
Since neither Sue or I have really explored the south western part of New Hampshire, I decided that would make a wonderful anniversary Fall foliage trip 10/13/21.

It turned out to be a wonderful trip with great weather, and pretty good foliage despite the fact that it was a little muted due to the really wet late Fall and early Autumn. But we found some spectacular colors in many places, and enjoyed waling through the woods everywhere, and kicking through the fallen leaves.

10/16/21: Snow Depth Chair On Leaf Detail
It's been a late foliage season, but leaves are already starting to fall. I took this picture of our now famous Snow Depth Chair doing early measuring duty on a bed of freshly fallen leaves.

10/17/21: Sunday Fall Foliage Walk
It was such a beautiful Sunday morning 10/17/21 that we decided to take Beau Sunday Fall foliage walk.

10/21/21: Sue's 70th Birthday Adventures
To celebrate her 70th birthday, Sue wanted to just take a long driving adventure not only for the foliage, but also to visit a friend in Webster, NH and take a walk through Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH.

It turned out to be a beautiful day, though the foliage this year is just running really, really behind and may not be as vibrant as it could be due to all the really wet weather we had earlier this Fall.

10/22/21: Sue's 70th Birthday Dinner
I took Sue to the Gilmanton Pub in Gilmanton, NH Friday evening 10/22/21 to celebrate her 70th birthday. Joining us was her brother Alan and Kathleen, and her long time friends Gail, who would be staying overnight with us, and Jen and Butch, who she's known forever.

Sue heading out with Beau for a short morning walk in the woods behind the house.

Outside the Gilmanton Pub: Butch, me, Kathleen, Alan, Gail, and Jen.

With a nice fire in the private room we had, we enjoyed good times and good food. Alan, Butch, Kathleen, Jen, and Sue.

10/23/21: Mia Day Visit
To help Marissa out, Sue drove down to Dover with Beau to pick Mia up for a short day visit Saturday morning 10/23/21.

Sue showing Mia how to shape the top or her pottery dish

On the way up here, they stopped to walk Beau on part of the Rail Trail out to the waterfall. After they got here I fixed chicken salad sandwiches with chips for lunch, and then Sue took Mia out to the barn to do another pottery project.

10/27/21: Late Fall Afternoon
Late Fall afternoon picture of the back yard and up the hill to the screen house.

10/29/21: Fall Has Fell....
Yup, end of October here and Fall foliage is definitely coming to a close: Fall has fell...

10/30/21: Mia To Library And Lunch
Sue and I picked Mia up for a few hours late Saturday morning 10/30/21. We wanted to take her to the Dover Public Library annual book sale, and then have lunch with her.

Sue caught us humming across the library parking lot for the car in the drizzle.

10/31/21: Mia's Halloween
Just wanted to remember these pictures Marissa took of Mia at Halloween as they're so cute.

Marissa and Mia baking their way to Halloween night

Mia decked out as Disney's Descendants Princess Evie

Mia with her full Evie hair piece and her best buddy Ben heading out trick or treating.

11/02/21: Antique Lamp Revived!
We have this wonderful antique lamp that was so period to our home that was built in 1775. But being old, it ceased operating as it was 2 lights controlled with 3 twists on the control knob. That was totally beyond my comprehension to figure out how to repair. However, my friend Steve came to the rescue by offering to take a look at it. I told him there was dinner and a great bottle of wine at stake here, and he rose to the challenge. Well, he was able to fix it, and so all we need to do now is set a date for that dinner! Thanks, Steve!

Somewhat strange looking lamp, but it fits perfectly into the time period of our house.

11/03/21: First Snow Shower Of The Season
Wow! Though tough to see the snow in the picture I took out the back porch door Wednesday 11/03/21, we had our first snow shower of the year.

The grass is still green, and there are still some colorful leaves on the trees, but it snowed none-the-less!

11/04/21: Drive Up Through Wolfeboro
After hauling several wheelbarrows of wood in for the wood stove Thursday morning 11/04/21, Sue and I took a scenic drive up around the Wolfeboro, NH area to check out foliage, and just have a nice couple of hour ride.

Screen porch wood rack loaded, and ready for a 'real snow storm'.

View of Wolfeboro from across the water on Brewster Beach.

11/06/21: Alan and Kathleen For Dinner
Alan and Kathleen swung down Saturday afternoon 11/06/21 for a '3 Fire Chili' without the fire we had made the day before.

Sue chatting with Alan and Kathleen.

The Beau Dog lounging in front of the wood stove.

11/07/21: Last Autumn Colors
Autumn is rapidly fading as the last phase of the leaves throw off some vibrant colors.

11/10/21: Stick Season Begins
And as the leaves dry and turn deep brown, they begin to fall. Stick Season has begun....

11/11/21: Walking Beau In Woods Behind The House
Thursday 11/11/21 I took Beau for a short walk through the woods out behind the house today just to kick through all of the fallen leaves that had those wonderful deep brownish hues to them.

11/13/21: Margarita Flight Night Out
Sue and I had a wonderful dinner and conversation with our friend Nancy on a special Saturday 11/13/21 "Margarita flight night out."

Sue had been wanting a margarita for awhile now, and Nancy was all up for coming with us for the restaurant's "flight night special". I'm not much on margaritas, so a couple of Coronas with Mexican enchiladas was fine for me.

Great time, but pouring rain not only soaked us as we ran through the parking lot for the car, but really slowed us down due to visibility coming up the winding mountain road for home.

After calming Beau down, and letting him out to do his 'bid-ness', I got a fire going in the wood stove. That was really nice, and quickly took the chill and dampness out of the air.

11/14/21: Fun Off The Cuff Dinner
With a warming fire going in the wood stove, and a nice bottle of Sauvigon Blanc, I put together what turned out to be a really nice off the cuff pork and plum tomatoes in a just soft spicy garlic and basil sauce.

11/15/21: Fall Yard Cleanup
We had to wait until most all of the leaves were down before we could have a final Fall yard cleanup. Part of the project was to cut back all the growth along the brook. What a difference, and Rob and I agreed that we'd have to cut it back a few times during the summer as it's so pretty to see.

11/19/21: Beaver Moon Eclipse
Sue caught a couple of great shots of the Beaver Moon Eclipse Thursday 11/19/21. The last one was 581 years ago in 1440, and it'll be another 500 years to the next one!

11/22/21: Full On Stick Season
It took another week, and harsh winds from a storm, but now all the leaves are down, and we're fully in Stick Season now!

11/23/21: Sue's Winter Project
Sue took on a great winter photography project to capture the season in an old fashioned manner.

11/24/21: Hike Up Pine Mountain
Sue wanted to take The Beau Dog for what could be a last hike up Pine Mountain before it gets too icy. And what a spectacular day on top it was! Lake Winnipesaukee was a beautiful deep, deep blue set against the back drop of an equally beautiful sky.

Sue and Beau looking out over Lake Winnipesaukee. You can clearly see Wolfeboro across the lake.

Sue took this shot of me trying to figure out one of the mountains in the Belknap Range from the pictograph display.

Later that night, in the pitch black with the stars filling the sky, Sue and I went outside and did what I call a 'Scream For A Life Passed'. Together, we screamed as loud as we could for one of my best friends and martial arts student of almost 50 years, David Landers.

Earlier this year he lost his son by a stupid drunk driver. He's been having a tough time of it, and I had written him to go outside at 6:30 as well, and to scream as loud as he could to rid himself of the loss, and to make today the start of a new run at life without Aaron. I hope our efforts helped him.

So, David: we send our love with our joint 'Scream For A Life Passed'.

11/25/21: Thanksgiving
Sue and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving together. I fixed the turkey and Sue made up both a terrific homemade stuffing and cranberry sauce.

We had a great fire going in the wood stove all day, as well as music playing in the background as we worked on the meal.

11/26/21: Fun Day After Thanksgiving
Sue and I had a really fun time the day after Thanksgiving. Primary to the day was getting out early, and shopping for poinsettias.

Sue checking out the shelves of poinsettias.

11/27/21: First Snow And Zoo Lights Exhibit

It had started snowing lightly last night and into this morning, and left the season's first white blanket of just over 2 inches to greet us when we got up. After grabbing a bite to eat, I went out with Beau to brush off the cars. Man, it was windy and cold out! Will have to get used to all this again, I guess!

We had bought tickets for us and Mia to go see the Zoo Lights exhibit at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, MA Saturday 11/27/21.

Though we were all pretty cold by the end of the day after walking around Zoo Lights for almost 2 hours, Sue and I had a wonderful day with Mia. I'm so glad that Sue discovered this, and suggested that we take Mia. Not sure who had more fun romping around the site: Sue or Mia!

12/01/21: Getting Our Christmas Tree
Wednesday 12/01/21 Sue and I decided we'd better get our tree. Not only did we get the last tree on the Neva Dun Farm lot last year, but traffic on the roads leading to some of the tree farms around here has been really, really busy.

Loading the tree onto the top of the car.

We know a family not far from us that puts out just a few trees, and thought we'd support them this year. Glad we went because we got a nicely formed tree that will look just great.

12/03/21: A Day In The Life On The Mountain
4pm and The Flag is UP, board is ready, fire going in the wood stove, and a glass of wine. Doesn't get much better than that though Sue had to wash off the Beau Dog outside in 30 degree weather after walking him in the woods this morning because he thought it would be a great idea to roll around in some bear shit.... which overshadowed my $1,489 cash out FOREX position. It's all in a day on the mountain.

12/04/21: Day With Mia
Sue drove down Saturday morning 12/04/21 and grabbed Mia up for the day.

Not only did she help us decorating our tree, but we took her over to see our friend Sarah Burns at her open house at Sweet Fern Pottery.

12/09/21: Chuck Visit
Thursday 12/09/21, Chuck arrived for a short visit. He met up with the kids for dinner, and had a great time with them. They kept him up late, though I hear it was really the other way around, but that was okay as he was staying at Marissa and Gary's house while here.

He drove up to our house late Friday morning 12/10/21, and we just hung out enjoying our time together. He also spent all of Saturday with us, then another gathering with the kids on Sunday before heading back home on Monday.

12/14/21: Moon Over The Ridge

12/15/21: Lucas Arrives For Holiday Visit
Wednesday 12/15/21 I drove down to Logan International Airport in Boston, MA to pick Lucas up from his 10:00 pm Jet Blue arrival. He'll be staying with us through the Holidays, and flying back Jan 5th.

Lucas arriving in the baggage claim area.

As we were waiting for his bags to arrive, Sue texted to see if his plane had arrived, and I sent that picture. She was up waiting for him as we pulled into the driveway at 12:30 am.

12/17/21: Lucas Settling In
We just had a simple Friday night dinner 12/17/21, chatted for awhile, and then caught a movie before turning in.

Relaxing after dinner.

12/18/21: First Big Snow Storm
It started snowing late Saturday afternoon 12/18/21 and kept it up through early Sunday morning dumping about 8 inches of very pretty, but heavy snow.

The storm begins. This taken at 1:45pm Saturday afternoon.

And this is how it looked Sunday morning at 8:15am.

12/19/21: Nice Sunday Winter Day and Dinner
Sunday 12/19/21 was a nice relaxing day. During the afternoon with a nice fire going in the wood stove, I watched the 1977 Ed Asner and Maureen Stapleton movie The Gathering play in the background. I've watched that movie between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year now for... well, pretty much every year. It's become one of my traditions.

Opening scene from 'The Gathering'

For dinner, I did an on-the-fly sage chicken with mushrooms cooked in white wine, butter, and other mah-vo-loose stuff, with tarragon steamed beans with butter and whatever.

Sage chicken with mushrooms cooked in white wine, butter, and other mah-vo-loose stuff

12/23/21: Ready For Christmas!
Thursday 12/23/21, I hauled in several wheelbarrows of wood from the wood pile so we'd be all set through Christmas.

It's been really cold, and as you can see from the picture: lots of snow. We'll have a white Christmas on the mountain this year.

12/25/21: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
We were so fortunate that both Lucas and Rachel, and Jill could join us for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year.

5:00pm Christmas Day, and everyone is around the Scrabble board having a great time.

Unfortunately, the weather turned extremely dangerous Christmas Eve day, with snow blowing and roads icing over. Jill, who had driven up from Rhode Island, had quite the experience.

But we got everyone settled in, the wood stove throwing a wonderful warming blanket of heat over the room, and had a marvelous turkey dinner.

12/30/21: Mia Day Visit
Sue went down and scooped up Mia for the day, and they had quite a time of it. Unfortunately, Sue wasn't able to take Mia snow shoeing later that afternoon. On the morning walk with her and Beau, Mia took a tumble onto some rocks, and split the skin on her knee pretty badly.

We got it all cleaned up, and I drove down to the pharmacy to get a package of butterfly bandages that we put onto it. But that was it for any stress against that area.

Mia showing off her and Gramma Sues dye colored snowman they had built in lieu of snow shoeing.

Showing Mia how the backgammon checkers move.

But they had a great time of it despite the cut. In fact, one of the highlights of the day was the snowman they built out back. It was just a small one, but Sue figured it was too cold to make a big one, and she wanted to keep Mia's physical movements down because of the cut.

Before she left, Mia wanted another backgammon lesson, and so we sat in the living room for awhile practicing: just with a couple of checkers to get the feel of how to get around the board, but we had a good time.

12/31/21: New Years Eve With Marissa
Friday afternoon New Years Eve 12/31/21 we headed down to Marissas for New Years Eve.

Marissa, Sue, and Miss Mia!

We exchanged gifts, and then we all headed out to the lights display at Sandy Hill Farm in Eliot, Maine.

As we were winding up with the display, Gary called in for Chinese food delivery, and by the time we got back to their place it was waiting for us. We had a great time visiting, but headed out around 10:00 pm. Great day.