01/01/24: Happy New Year!
Sue and I had a wonderful New Year's Eve celebrating with Marissa, Gary, Mia, and Maisie.

After a wonderful time walking the trails with them at Sandy Hill Farm in Eliot, ME to see the light show, we went back to their house for dinner and movies.

01/02/24: Brook Culvert Replacement
Due to the severe rain storms 12/17/23, we had to replace the brook culvert system on Tuesday 01/02/24 as it was rendered inoperable.

01/02/24: Alan And Kathleen Come For Dinner
We were so glad that Alan and Kathleen were able to come down from Brownfield, ME to have dinner with us because Sue presented them with their wedding album that she had taken the pictures at and created a beautiful memory album for them.

01/04/24: Celebrating Hells Backbone Grill Utah Trip
To block the sun from my eyes when I'm sitting at my desk in the library I put on my Hells Backbone Grill ball cap. I bought it during our 05/05/18: Hell's Backbone Grill and Beyond Trip. I couldn't resist taking a selfie as it brings great memories back to me.

It was a wonderful 9 day trip to Utah from May 4th through the 13th. The motivation for the trip, well... from my viewpoint, anyway, was to fulfill my current, one and only item on my "Bucket List": to have dinner at Hell's Backbone Grill in Boulder, UT. It's all explained in the post if you click the link....

01/06/24: Delayed Christmas For Colin and Swayzie
Swayzie and little Rezleigh were both sick on Christmas, and Colin had to work, and so we had to wait until their shifts all aligned so we could swing by and have a delayed Christmas with them!

01/07/24: Major 12 Inch Snow Storm
Sunday 01/07/24 we got hit with a major 12 inch snow storm.

01/12/24: Friday Night Pizza Party
It had been awhile since we've been able to get together with our friends Steve and Cathy, and so Sue just called them up and invited them over for a Friday night pizza party.

It was nice to have them over and catch up together as it's recently just been Sue and Cathy out walking Beau on some trail through the woods.

01/14/24: Concert And Dinner Out
Sunday 01/14/24 we went to see Recycled Percussion at the Rochester Opera House with Jen and Butch, and then we all went to dinner at the Governor's Inn.

01/16/24: A Week of Winter Storms
So it seems like every other day from 01/16/24 there was some sort of storm - rain and/or snow - that hit us. And along with that was daily temperatures ranging from 20F to 38F degrees.

01/18/24: Gail Overnight Visit
Sue's friend Gail came over early Thursday 01/18/24, and she and Sue went exploring in Rochester for a couple of hours. When they came home, they did some snowshoeing through the woods out back with Beau, which you could tell he really loved.

After they got back and were warming up, I poured out some wine that Gail had brought, a nice 14 Hands Red Blend, and cooked up skillet scallops in a light basil and garlic cream sauce with a side of parsley and basil steamed carrots.

But after watching a movie, we all quickly headed off to bed. I was tasked with cooking fried eggs for us in the morning as all Sue and Gail could do was cup their hot coffee in their hands and chat away in the living room.

01/20/24: Early Dinner and Desert With Movie At Home
We ran some errands in the Dover area early Saturday afternoon 01/20/24, and after having an early dinner at The Shanty on Route 4, we headed home to watch the 3 hour 2023 movie Avatar: Way of the Water, which we both felt was too long and despite a lot of really stunning action sequences had just way too much unnecessary story filler.

01/21/24: Concert In Portsmouth
Sue and I drove down to Portsmouth, NH 01/21/24 to see Seth Rosenbloom in concert at Jimmy's Jazz & Blues Club

We had last visited Jimmy's to see Walter Trout back in October of 2023 (see posting 10/01/23: Dinner And Concert In Portsmouth), and were looking forward to attending another event there. And we were not disappointed; what a great show.

01/28/24: Spur Of The Moment Drive To Ossipee For Dinner
Sue's friend Jen called and ask if we'd like to go up to Sunny Villa in Ossipee with her and Butch for a pub dinner and beers. They were going up to have dinner and hear their friend Dave sing and play guitar in the bar.

After carrying in 2 carts of wood, a dump and shopping run, and other stuff, and Sue and Jen had spent several hours together in a herbal tea and tincture class earlier so we were certainly up for that.

I hadn't been to Sunny Villa in maybe 20 years, and I think it had been almost that long for Sue, so an adventure! We got there just after the sun had set and a few snowmobiles popped out of the woods, parked off the trail below the window where we were sitting, and came inside. Butch said the property was on 75 acres with trails leading all over the place.

It was fun night, the beer was cold, and the burgers great. We did catch some light sleet on the drive back home, and there was an overlay of fog through the tops of the trees that was just classic New Hampshire at its winter best!

01/29/24: Snow Storm Drops Another 9 Inches
It started snowing during the night and when we got up there was an additional 9 inches of snow that had fallen onto the 6 remaining from the last storm. It was just spectacularly beautiful.

02/02/24: Arthur and Leslie Join Us For Dinner
Arthur and Leslie joined us for dinner Friday evening 02/03/24. It was a pretty chilly evening outside, but the wood stove kept us all cozy for the evening.

For dinner, I had a bottle of 1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel-Aged Zinfandel on the brain, and just knew that a recipe I had for 'Moroccan Chicken With Apricot and Olive Relish' would be perfect.

Though the girls I'm sure envied our zin, Sue and Leslie opted for a bottle of Prosecco instead. And Arthur came with desert cannolis that were fabulous. A great evening!

02/03/24: Sue Takes Mia For A Building Project Class
Sue saw this great kids building project get together put on by the Home Depot in Somersworth, NH, and thought Mia would love going. And she did!

They not only had a great time building a bird house, but then went to grab a bite to eat and then off to explore whatever treasures they might uncover at the crystal shop in Dover, NH. Mia is wild for it as their brochure states: "... magical tools like crystals and stones, crystal jewelry, pendulums, herbs, candles, smudge supplies, incense and more!"

02/04/24: Cozy Dinner By The Wood Stove
After a busy weekend, Sue and I decided that for Sunday dinner we'd just relax and gather up whatever we had on hand for dinner. I made what turned out to be a mah-vou-loose spicy chicken and vegetable stir fry with spinach, bok choy, carrots, and onion in a really nice tamari, garlic, ginger, honey, and brown sugar sauce served over parsley infused brown rice.

02/11/24: Another Cozy Winter Sunday Dinner
And to carry the theme of the 02/04/24 posting forward, Sundays in the winter here on our little mountain is a wonderful time for us to have cozy dinners by the woodstove. I did chicken again, but this time legs in a spicy ginger sauce with a wonderful bottle of Meiomi our friends Arthur and Leslie had brought us 02/02/24.

02/14/24: Best Card I've Even Received

02/16/24: Vows On The Lake
Colin and Swayzie exchanged their vows in a private ceremony at sunset on a quite frozen and snow covered small remote lake on February 16th.

02/21/24: Deer Stealing From The Bird Feeder
Sue got this shot of a deer stealing food from the bird feeder outside of the kitchen window.

03/01/24: Mia Skiing King Pine
Sue and I took Mia skiing to King Pine in Madison, NH Friday 03/01/24. The pictures tell it all!

03/03/24: Cozy Sunday Dinner By The Woodstove

The Beau Dog relaxing by the woodstove while we play some backgammon before starting dinner prep.

Under all of that kale are 6 juicy pork chops cooking in a savory herb infused gravy sauce.

I popped a bottle of 19 Crimes Red Blend for dinner and it went great with the pork chops.

03/08/24: Colin and Family Visit
We had a wonderful visit Friday afternoon 03/08/24 with Colin, Swayzie, and little Rezleigh.

The sun had warmed everything up enough so Sue got out some chairs so we could all be outside, though it was still chilly enough that we needed coats. And, by the time they had to head out, it was cold....

So, Sue got to playing with Rezleigh and Beau out in the yard as most of the snow had melted. However, Rezleigh sprinted off down the hill and basically threw herself into the mud where last November we had dug up a long channel across the yard for a new drainage pipe. Sue had to catch up with her to keep her from stuffing the mud into her mouth.

03/10/24: March Snow Storm
We got hit with about 10 inches of snow in a storm that rolled slowly over the mountain.

03/16/24: Outing With Mia To Rail Trail Waterfalls
Sue and I grabbed up Mia Saturday 03/16/24 for an outing to the rail trail waterfalls.

03/16/24: Mia's Backgammon Message
Isn't she just the sweetest thing.... Must get that from gramps who's teaching her to be pretty fierce over the backgammon board. Trash talk at 8 years old....

Just kept this gem of a picture separate from the one in the previous collection as it's such a classic....

03/18/24: Day After St. Patrick's Day Dinner
We were tied up for St. Patrick's Day so had our celebration dinner on Monday the 18th.

But before dinner, Sue had gone down to scoop the Rezleigh girl up with Swayzie to walk Beau in the woods. On the way back, they stopped off to let Rezleigh see the lambs being raised at one of the local farms.

Best recipe I've ever had with stuff in there you'd never have thought of....

03/20/24: Not Ready For Spring Yet
Sue was already in the dirt even though the snow hadn't fully melted even though it's 20th of March. But the sun was out briefly, and that's all she needed..... And then overnight we got almost blizzard conditions and ended up with almost an inch of snow on the ground.

03/24/24: Late March Snow Storm
Sunday 03/24/24 we got hit with several inches of heavy wet snow. But, we bore up under the pressure. I even cooked up a wonderful shrimp Creole dinner and topped that off with a bottle of 1000 Stories Zin! And then after binge watching 3 episodes of Billions, we called it a day.

03/25/24: Mt. Washington Still Snow Capped
End of March and Mt. Washington remains fully snow capped! Sue caught this picture of it as we were headed north on Rt. 16 to meet up for early dinner with Swayzie's folks at the Hobbs Tavern in West Ossipee, NH.

Spectacular!

03/31/24: Easter in Tuftonboro
Sue and I spent a relaxing Easter Sunday with her Niece Tracy and family up in Tuftonboro, NH.

04/02/24: Just A Let's Party Tuesday

04/04/24: Massive Winter Nor'easter Snow Storm
Late Wednesday night and all through Thursday 04/04/24 we got hit with a massive winter Nor'easter snow storm that knocked power out to many towns in New Hampshire, New Durham being one of them.

04/08/24: Watching The Total Eclipse
Sue and I drove down to her friend Jen's house Monday 04/08/24 to watch the unfolding of the total eclipse over the mountains in the distance.

Without a professional cameras, lens, and filters this was all you get with a cell phone; but it was great fun!

04/09/24: Heavy Rains
Then new culvert and drainage system that we had installed late last year is doing great, but there has been so much melting snow and rain that the previous small amount of water flowing from under the barn has become an issue.

Water coming from under the barn due to heavy rains.

04/11/24: Pat Methany In Concert
Sue and I drove down to Portsmouth, NH Thursday evening 04/11/24 to see Pat Methany in concert at the Music Hall.

Because the Hanover Street Parking Garage was undergoing construction, we knew it would take quite awhile to exit after the concert. So, we parked in the new - well relatively new to us, anyway - Foundry Place Garage, and had a leisurely walk over to the 110 Grill where we had a relaxing dinner before heading over to the Music Hall.

Unfortunately, neither of us really cared for the concert. Chuck had introduced us to Methany's music with his We Live Here album, and we loved that. But nothing that he played was even close to that. It was more experimental guitar, and most of the music fell flat on us with its - to us - dissonant sounds.

But that's okay. We had never experienced that sort of thing, but Methany is spectacularly talented. It's just not our thing....

Dinner at The 110 Grill.

Walking over to the Music Hall.

View of the stage.

04/14/24: Drive Up To Brownfield, ME
Sue and I took a drive up to Brownfield, ME for a visit to see her brother Alan.

Sue and Alan enjoying the visit.

04/16/24: Mid-Week Dinner Party For 2
I decided to throw a mid-week dinner party just for the two of us to celebrate the start of boating season around here - actually 04/15 through 10/15. I don't have a boat, but used to - so good enough excuse for me, anyway! I fixed up what turned out to be a spectacular shrimp gumbo which we enjoyed with a nice bottle of Apothic Red Winemakers Blend.

04/18/24: Celebrating Our First Date

Remembering 04/18/2010

04/19/24: Abbie And The Kids
My nephew Dean was able to fly out from Idaho to join Scott to be with their mom Abbie, and sent me this terrific picture of them. Love you all!

Scott, Abbie, and Dean

04/19/24: Birthday Dinner With Colin
Sue and I joined Colin and family Friday 04/19/24 for a delayed birthday celebration.

04/21/24: Mia Lacrosse Game
Sunday 04/21/24 Sue and I drove down to Dover High School to watch Mia's Lacrosse game.

04/23/24: Mia Does An Overnight With Us
After Sue and Mia wandered around doing errands Monday 04/22/24, she brought Mia up to the house for an overnight visit.

04/24/24: Sue's Daffodils Spring Forth!
It was so nice to see Sue's daffodils poking out of the ground!

04/25/24: Beau Gets His Spring Trim and Shampoo!
Yup, it was time for The Beau Dog — Protector of The Realm, Guardian of The Wood, and Associate Director of Guest Greeting — to have his Spring Trim and Fu-fu Shampoo!

After dropping Beau at the groomer, we drove back down to Alton Bay to sit and relax in the sun. But that wind was really chilly! We both have on gear we bought on our trip out to Lake Geneva, WI to see Chuck and Denise 09/21/22

Me taking a picture of Sue taking a picture of Alton Bay.

And there's The Beau Dog all fu-fu'ed up and ready to get outta there!

04/26/24: Chuck and Denise Visit Braden
Chuck got this great picture of him, Braden, and Denise when they were up in Milwaukee, WI to visit him.

Braden, Denise, Chuck

05/05/24: Mia's Last Home Field Lacrosse Game
It was a windy and cold day for Mia's final home field Lacrosse game.

There she goes!

05/07/24: Maisie Ridin' The Big Rig With Dad
What a wonderful picture of Gary and Maisie riding in a Bobcat down at the shop!

Maisie and dad

05/11/24: Northern Lights Event
Sue and I climbed out of bed at Three—O'Dark—Clock Saturday morning 05/11/24 to drive up to the ridge so she could try to get some pictures of a Northern Lights event. A little muted, but worth the effort to see them, though The Beau Dog was not impressed.

05/12/24: Mother's Day Dinner For Sue
Sue was able to connect with both Lucas and Jill for Mother's Day, and had wonderful chats with them. To help her celebrate, for dinner I fixed what turned out to be a terrific on the fly chicken in an oregano, tomato, and wine base over couscous finishing up the night with one of her favorite movies of Andrew Loyd Webber's classic Phantom of the Opera.

Showing off the terrific job Sue did rearranging the spice cabinet. I can actually find stuff now!

Dinner with what turned out to be a very nice but inexpensive bottle of CK Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc.

05/13/24: First Grilling of The Season!
Okay! The weather held off from the rain, and so Monday 05/13/24 I hauled the grill out to cook up marinated beef tips from the local market. And, man, did they come out great along with the great salad that Sue made and a nice bottle of wine.

05/14/24: Dinner at Shibley's on Alton Bay
Tuesday 05/14/24 the weather had just thrown a wonderful sunny, hot day over the Lakes Region and so I took Sue for an early dinner at Shibley's on Alton Bay.

View of Alton Bay from the outside deck at Shiley's.

05/16/24: Mia At Lacrosse Game
Marissa had taken this spectacular picture of a fierce looking Mia at one of her away games.

A fierce Mia at the ready.

05/17/24: Sue and Gail's Yard Sale
Gail came over Friday 05/17/24 for and to spend the night so that 'the girls' could get an early start to our town wide yard sale they had joined together for.

05/20/24: Dinner With The Arlingtons
We had a wonderful dinner with our friends Cindy and Charlie Arlington at Anatolia's Mediterranean Restaurant in Somersworth Monday 05/20/24.

It was so great to see them. I've know them since... well almost forever as not only is Charlie one of my 2nd Degree Black Belt karate disciples, but one of my oldest students from back in the early 1970s from the Rose School of Karate.

05/25/24: Memorial Day Weekend
Sue and I spent Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend visiting her brother Alan and his wife Kathleen up in Brownfield, ME, and then Monday just hanging around the house relaxing.

05/29/24: Boston Trip
Sue and I did an overnight in Boston, MA Wednesday 05/29/24 as she had an early Thursday morning appointment at Mass General in the Back Bay.

Good thing I did that as traffic Thursday morning was brutal. The projected 15 minuted drive into the Back Bay from the hotel actually took over 40 minutes because of a windy rain storm that swirled all around the coast.

Sue enjoying her meal at DeMaino's in Revere, MA<

It was still pouring when we left the hospital around 11:00am Thursday morning, and traffic getting out of town was awful. Once out of all that and up through Sagus and onto Route 95 North, we thought we'd pull off of 95 in Seabrook and take the coastal route 1 north until we could head down onto the shore road 1A.

06/02/24: Casual Sunday Dinner For 2
To decompress a little more from all the hectic scramble last week, I though a nice, quiet, casual dinner would be in order.

After battling it out in backgammon out on the porch for awhile, Sue and I brought our wine glasses into the kitchen. We chatted while I whipped up an on the fly shrimp and bok choy dish sauteed with sesame seeds, and spices in a herb seasoned white wine sauce served over a bed of couscous cooked in parsley water.

We topped the evening off streaming a few episodes of the wonderful TV Series Everwood that we've fallen into. It was an all around good day. And those are the best kind!

I did all of the prep work ahead of time so we could just enjoy a couple of glass of wine out on the porch playing backgammon before heading into the kitchen to cook.

The board and the wine are ready!

Let the cooking begin!

06/03/24: Dinner Out With Friends
Friday 06/03/24 Sue and I went exploring along the coast just south of Portsmouth, NH, and then met up with friends for an early dinner at BGs Boathouse over looking Sagamore Creek.

Fort Stark was built around 1890, and so you have to be really careful walking around.