The Sick House

Three down, two to go. The sickness is moving through the house. I never got sick before I had a baby. Now, it's all the time. And it moves through the house. Sometimes it comes back. Kenny and Grammy got violently sick the other night. I thought it might have been the pizza we ordered. Two days since and now poor Uncle Wally is sick. Willie and I are the only ones still well, knock on wood. Hand sanitizer is my friend. Hand sanitizer is my friend. Sort of like Dorothy clicking her little red shoes together.
With my luck, it will be happy new year--you're sick.

On Making Soup

"It calls for leeks, should I use the green part on top?"

"Why not," says Kenny.

Sure why not? Probably has more nutrition. I am making soup tonight. After a week of butter, cream, beef, pastries, cheese spread, more cheese spread, I thought it time for a simple meal. And there it was in the newest issue of Cooking Light Magazine, the golden winter soup. It looked so nice in the photo. A shade of golden yellow from the butternut squash in the ingredients.

And here is where the leeks come in. When I used the whizzer 6000 hand held boat motor blender to puree my potatoe, squash and leek soup, it turned green. More like split pea.

I guess that answers the question about the top of the leeks.

Help We're Buried In Toys

Our living room could very well be the newest showroom for Toys R Us. There are toys everywhere. There's also now a jungle gym in the middle of the living room--fully assembled---just in case you feel like a little climb before dinner. Apparently once you have a child "of toy age" the post Christmas clean-up takes on a whole new life of its own. Every grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, friend, the mailman, person on the street can't resist buying toys for a child who now wants to actually play with them. I'm sure once I'm in their shoes I'll be the same way. But now, I'm hoping not to trip over the lead laden Thomas the Train toys and break my arm.
My friend Jason had this to say "Well, Lara, you've lost your living room for good now." He knows what he's talking about. He has two kids and his living room is wall to wall toys. Poor Jason had to build a porch sunroom just so he had a toy free zone in which to sit, watch TV and perhaps enjoy a glass of wine and some quiet. Too bad my porch/sunroom has already been lost to firewood storage or I'd head out there...

Book Reviews Are Coming In

The first book reviews from local readers are coming in.

Here's one from Jen Cronin, an Exeter High Alum who bought it for her parents:

"My dad read your ENTIRE book Christmas morning. In fact he had to read the last three stories in the car on the way to my grandmother’s house because he couldn’t put the book down. My mother said it was a good thing she was driving because he nearly peed his pants reading the last two chapters. He loved the Nookie story. My mom said she nearly drove off the road because he was laughing so hard. I'm pretty sure that they have both read it now.

So glad I saw it at the Water Street Bookstore. I think my dad loved this gift more than the snow suit my mom got for him!"

Another New Exeter Blogger

First Wayne Patten, now Mike Lambert. The list of Exeter bloggers is growing. Mike is a local watch dog in town who has just started the new Exeter Town Crier blog. Want to know what's happening around town or in local government or boards? The juicy stuff. The stuff the local papers don't necessarily write about? But the stuff you should know about if you want to keep up on what's happening in your town. Well, the Exeter Town Crier is the place to go to find out.

There is butter in my hair and sugar in the air

AHHH. I think I know why Julia Childs has a little nip here and there while cooking. I'm good with cooking. Baking is another story. I don't have the patience for it. And I don't really like following rules, which is imperative in baking. I've spent the last few hours trying to make the very stunning (in the photo in the Bon Appetit cookbook) mocha raspberry trifle for Christmas Day. This involves making sponge cake from scratch. This could push some people to drink. Including me. Every year I swear I will just go plead with Judd my favorite downtown Baker's Peel baker to make me the sponge cake. But I don't. And every year, I give myself an ulcer trying to make the sponge cake. You see, you have to make the egg yolk, butter, sugar, flour part and then the egg white part. Then you are supposed to "gently" fold the two together. Let me tell you, there's nothing gentle about trying to fold something that has the consistency of putty with light, whipped egg whites.

And now to add to my stress, our first guests have arrived 45 minutes early. I have egg in my hair. Butter on my face. And nothing to wear!!! Ahh, more wine I suppose

I'll Be Home For Christmas (in my Saab)

My Uncle Wally is a man passionate about old Saabs. He fixes them, collects them, even made his own part for one that he was hawking on Ebay for a while. And then sometimes he tries to drive from Ohio to our house in one. This all depends on which of the three or four Saabs seems to have the best probability of making it to his destination.

The last email I had said he'd be leaving Ohio Saturday or maybe Sunday to arrive for Christmas. My mother claimed he might be here Sunday. And Grammy has just been going about shaking her head and saying "Those old Saabs, I hope he doesn't break down."

Surprise--he did. Somewhere in Pennsylvania. He'll be here Christmas Eve. This of course makes me wax nostalgic for my childhood in Vermont when he always arrived Christmas Eve, and of course in his Saab. One year we didn't have a Christmas tree until he arrived and went off in the wilds of Vermont to chop one down.

I must be channeling him these days. Today, less than two days from Christmas, I finally decorated our tree.

I take that back, I may have been brainwashed by the Christmas crab that resides here with me.

Hand Cut Fries, Big Food, Good Prices

So we tried out the new Steve's Diner today at lunch time. They've only been open about 5 days and the parking lot was packed. The inside was packed too. I'd say that this means we needed a place like this in town as the one other place like this is always so packed you can't get right in.

They've added new tiles, new hanging lights and some silver metal strip decor thing around the top of the walls. But other than that, it's the same.

I will say they need to turn up their heat, but that could just be me.

Here's the deal on the menu-- hand cut fries! Everything is home made and they have a huge dessert display with things like carrot cake, Boston cream cake, grapenut custard and the list goes on.

I had a cheeseburger. It was made by hand and huge. Pretty good, but I'd like a few more spices thrown in the mix. The handcut fries were awesome! Kenny had a steak and cheese sub, which was also huge. Willie had his standard grilled cheese and grammy had hash and eggs. She said the hash seemed to be homemade.

The menu's standard diner fare. Eggs, Omeletts, French Toast, club sandwiches, burgers (they did have a turkey burger) and spaghetti.

Here's the other cool thing---they're open for diner, which makes for a great family location to hit up. The one thing I would pass on that's on the dinner plate section--liver and onions. Ick.

The Official Moose Milking Video (And A Man Who Likes Moose Milk)

For those of you who are still wondering how to milk the moose. Check out this video

Even better, this NPR piece in which some Russian guy talks about his "first time" with the moose milk. I am a bit skeptical as he sounds like the guy who played Borat.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

For months now, my little grammy, age 90, has been receiving calls for a "David" on her new phone number in Exeter. The people looking for David are really looking for him, if you catch my drift. Despite Grammy saying she has never heard of David, they call back again. And again. And again. They leave messages saying David had better call them back right away or suffer the consequences. "We know you're there David," they say. They won't take "Nope we've never heard of David for an answer."

These frequent calls often lead Grammy to walk about sputtering when the phone rings "That's probably those people looking for David."

I know what you're thinking, like I was, that a David must have had her phone number previously. I surmised he must have left some unpaid bills.

They called again last night.

And this time, I got on the phone to explain that David didn't live here. I asked if they could give me David's last name. They did. It was Bridgeham. And so I did a reverse phone look up and low and behold, there's a David Bridgeham listed in Stratham with gram's phone number. I googled David. And, yep, you guessed it, he's in jail. To read the complete story about why he's in jail, click here.

I've no doubt these people looking for David think the sweet old lady is just a cover for David, who's hanging out in her apartment or something. I told Kenny to watch out because if he misbehaves, Grammy's going to call out her secret hidden tenant to lay the smack down on him.

I told Grammy we should change her answering machine so that it included the phone number to the county jail for the people looking for David.

"Oh, no, we couldn't do that, what would my friends think when they called and heard I had a criminal's phone number?"

Holiday Party Games

Maybe it's the snow. Maybe it's the fact that I was inside all day. Maybe it's the season. Who knows. But tonight I found a fun game for the holiday parties. It might be more fun after the holiday eggnog.. Check out the top picks on the Comcast On Demand these days. There it is--holiday karaoke. Yes, you heard correctly. You don't need to visit Stacey Janes down on the beach or long for the days of that place on Epping Road. Right in your very own home, you can host your own Christmas karaoke party.

Kenny is oh so thrilled---NOT---that I found this little fun game. Just think of the fun we can have at the annual family Christmas Eve celebration, I told him.

Now I googled this and found that there is a whole subculture of people addicted to not only Christmas karaoke from Comcast, but regular karaoke as well. Check it out here

Exeter Inn Closed?

No doubt there are countless Exeter families out there that look forward to going to the Inn of Exeter for their holiday meals and get togethers. Now I'm hearing that the new owners of the inn have closed up shop for renovations and will be closed right through the holidays. When I drove by yesterday I saw scaffolding inside the inn. Where will people go for their fancy New Year's Eve dinner or New Year's Day brunch? What about Christmas? The inn's web site isn't even up any more with information about when they will re-open.
Lucky for me, the inn wasn't up there on my list of places to take a young toddler for a relaxing meal. We'll likely hit the Old Salt or Abercrombie and Finch in North Hampton.

Moose Book on Sale in Exeter

It's a big day! Through frantic scrambling, I was able to get some early copies of the book in time for the holidays. Thanks to the wonderful help of book store owner Dan Chartrand, the moose book is now available for sale at Water Street Bookstore in Exeter. It's still kind of surreal, but how cool!

Life with the Christmas Crab

As the clock ticks down to Christmas, I thought it might be a nice time to revisit a column about how this time of year goes in my household:

Call me cheesy, but I’m one of those people who starts getting excited about Christmas even before Thanksgiving. I tune my radio pre-set buttons in my car to those 24 hour holiday music stations the day after Thanksgiving and ride around singing every Christmas song (even when I don’t know the words) until the big day. I bake cookies. I make decorations. I even watch all of those feel-good Christmas specials on TV. (Yes, I even watch the really bad made for Lifetime TV Christmas movies).
My husband, on the other hand, transforms into a creature I call “The Christmas Crab.” As soon as the holiday decorations start going up in stores and around town, he starts to grumble. He scowls. He frequently growls, “I hate Christmas.” There is nothing I can do to change his mind.
Of course, this doesn’t stop me. It just challenges me. The more he hates Christmas, the more I try to make him like Christmas. And the more I try, the more he claims to hate the holiday season. It’s a never-ending cycle.

To read the complete column, click here

An Escape Plan

I went outside to put the horses out and couldn't find my winter boots. Instead, I pulled on a pair of Kenny's, size 10 wide hiking boots. I'm a size 8.... I closed my eyes to get across the driveway, thinking of happy thoughts, warm weather of a week ago. Snow is blowing. Coming up under my pants through a hole at the top of the boot.

Freezing cold. Freezing Cold. Freezing cold snowball in my, I mean Kenny's boot. Got in through a big hole in the side. Cold. Cold. Cold. I hope this old retired horse doesn't run away while I have a snowball in my foot. It's burning cold. Stinging cold. I hate winter....

Back inside;

"Hey Kenny, you've got a hole in your boot"

"I know"

"I got a snowball on my foot"

Should've checked it, he says.

And that's when I found the great winter escape--Skybus out of Pease. They are now offering flights to St. Augustine/Daytona area airport on the east coast of Florida and the Fort Meyers airport on the Gulf Coast side. Fort Meyers fares are a lot higher. Most likely because it's near Marco Island and Naples where everything is 3x more expensive. But there are deals to be found on St. Augustine side, from $45 one way! Most in January are $65 each way. Combine that with the fact that you don't have to pay to park and you can get away for a weekend cheaper than going to Boston. I spent a lot of time in St. Augustine growing up and it's a very historic and interesting place to visit. And it also happens to be the oldest city in the US.

And warmer!

I've made Amazon.com

So unfortunately we missed the deadline to the printer for Christmas delivery on the big moose book. Welcome to the world of publishing, which is a lot slower than the frenzy of the newspaper world. It should be available late December/early January now.

So you can't stand not spending some extra money this holiday season? You can order it now through amazon.com which is pretty exciting and a bit surreal. I find it odd that a book store in the UK picked it up, but who knows.

Check out the listing by clicking here

NEWS ALERT

Steve's Diner in the old Pizza Hut on Portsmouth Avenue is set to open for breakfast on Monday December 17.

A Three Hour Tour

Here are some of our neighbors at the Silver Glen Springs and the approach up the channel. The water was only a foot or two deep at most places, but I'm sure the gators could still hide there to bite my toes off....

Last Thursday morning, we fueled up the SS Ibis, our house boat, and headed toward the Silver Glen Springs and Run. The marina told us it was a four hour trip. It was more like five, but well worth the trip. Though it was a bit scary while crossing Lake George to learn that we had to stay in a very specific area because of the military bombing range on the side of the lake. So you've got alligators on one side and bombs on the other--great! It was about at that point when I decided a cocktail might be in order in case we were lost at sea. I know, I know, it's a lake, but it was huge and seemed like we were on the ocean.

After making it all the way across the lake, we entered the narrow channel to the springs. We saw a woman with a bow and arrow poised on the water while steering her boat with her foot. Apparently the modern day spearing of fish. Kind of scary. I was hoping we didn't encounter her at night...

The water was crystal clear and that perfect shade of green/blue. We saw all sorts of fish, turtles, birds, but no gators. At the end, a half dozen boats were anchored up and there was a roped off swimming area. I was still not sold on swimming in an area where alligators hang out, but at least it was clear so you could see them coming. We saw no alligators that first day, but dozens of jumping fish. Apparently in some cases, these fish can be more dangerous, like this case last year. Think you might lose your limbs to a gator? Beware the jumping fish.

No More Vincent's....

Why is it that every time we get some place in town that actually offers live music on a regular basis they leave?? I was sadden to see the big "For Lease" sign in Vincent's window downtown when I returned from vacation this week. I really liked the place and loved the fact that you could hear some form of live music every weekened. Plus, I loved the fact that Al Lampert, of Al's Automotive, became partners with Vincent after the blond chickie to the right returned to her roots in Rochester.

Vincent always knew it was me when he got an order in the kitchen for shrimp scampi, XXX garlic. What can I say? I'm fending off the vampires.

Why Vincent closed up so quickly or where he went are mysteries to me. I guess I'm going to have to get a tub of garlic at the grocery store to drown my sorrows...

In Search of the Elusive Manatees

See those gray things in the water? They are the elusive manatees heading up the natural springs for winter.

And here is the not-so-nice sign that greeted us at the Blue Springs State Park

Day Two on the House Boat:

We are heading up the St. John's River on our house boat with eyes glued to the water. "Come out manatees, show yourselves," Kate calls out. "Come out gators." I know, I know. I wouldn't call them out either, but she's from Detroit and not afraid of gangs and driveby shootings. So why would a little old gator worry her?

Alas, all we have seen so far are herons, egrets and turtles. But they are everywhere. As we sit in the lap of house boat luxury, we are in the middle of nature.

"Are you sure they didn't warn you about water moccasins," I asked Kenny.

"NO," he says for the 1000th time as he attempts to make sense of the map the marina gave us to navigate. Our destination is the Blue Springs State Park, which is the winter haven for the endangered manatee. It's supposedly close by. We make it in just over one hour. Now comes the question of how we get off this beast. I'm still convinced there are water moccasins in the water. But instead, I find this sign about alligators.

The manatees migrate to the springs during the winter (yeah because under 80 degrees is winter down to these southerners) because the water is always 72 degrees. We saw 6 manatees rolling lazily as they made their way up the clear waters of the spring.

We're Back.....

This is what was lurking behind our boat the first night on board. Some idiot next to us, who was fishing, kept throwing bait at him. Good plan.... NOT.

And here is the bird that hid out behind our boat the first morning. Most likely to hide from the gator that was being well-fed by the not so bright fisherman.

I had grand plans of posting to the blog every day on the house boat. But as usual, technology got the better of me. So stay tuned for some fun travelogue style blog entries this week. One local man's wife asked him why they couldn't take fun vacations like the house boat. You can. There are marinas all over the place on the St. John's River with weekend and week long rentals.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

This is our first trip with Willie and we might as well have rented a tractor trailer to carry the pile of essential baby items that we're carting along with us--play pen, play yard, portable high chair, back pack, life jacket and the list goes on.

Good thing we rented a mini van in Florida to carry all of this plus all of Kate and Sean's essential baby gear. Also good there's a roof rack on the house boat to store the loot.

Oh yes, sorry to see the snow coming. Looks like we're escaping just in time!

We Might Be Crazy

So, you might ask yourself, what were we thinking? We head out Sunday morning for the Holly Bluff Marina along the intercoastal waterway in Florida for a week on a house boat. With our little monkey climber and our dear friends Kate and Sean with their little female monkey climber. Two toddlers. One houseboat. One week. Willie's trying out his life jacket today.

Some warnings on the marina's web site include one about not swimming in the St. John's River because of alligators. I am also a bit disturbed that the theme song on the marina web site is the Gilligan's Island song.....a three hour tour.

News Flash--Bricker Solves Mystery of Moose Milking

Thanks to everyone who put in guesses this week on the big news. Very creative answers. And NO, I am not pregnant. I've got a book coming out called "How Do You Milk a Moose Anyway?" It's a collection of funny stories and columns, some new, some old.

Here's what an initial review had to say about it: "She has a really dry sense of humor, so just about everything she says is funny. She writes on anything you can imagine, from grape stomping to the liquid progesterone she has to put her moody horse on. I loved the book. I'm first in line to buy it when it comes out..."

Thanks to photographer Jay Reiter for his awesome cover photo shown here. I was going for the contemplative look. How'd I do?

Details to follow soon for online ordering of this book for Christmas delivery.

One More Clue

The big news on Friday has something to do with a new enterprise I'm undertaking that relates to this photo. Pregnancy has been ruled out. Moving to Maine has been ruled out. Becoming an actor has been ruled out. Moose stew has been ruled out.

What else could you make from a moose? And what kind of business venture could I have that comes from that?

Stay tuned.

What is Going on Here??

Why am I dressed like this? And why is there a moose in the photo?

Here's a hint---it relates to the big annoucement coming soon.

Channeling my Inner Cranky Old Man

I feel like a bit of an old time cranky townie man with this little rant, but I have to get it off my chest. Have you noticed the new top and sign over at Dunkin' Donuts? Nice huh? Here's my issue. So it's nice that they just spent who knows how much to make it look fresh and new, but here's an idea--why didn't they invest that $$ to fix the traffic pattern? I know I'm not the only one who avoids this place because of what a nightmare it is to get in and out. The drive-through is usually backed out onto Portsmouth Avenue and try parking in a regular spot, which is nearly impossible because you have to get around the drive-through people. Forget about trying to get back out onto Portsmouth Avenue when coming out of the drive-through. I always end up trying to make another lap around (through the drive-through people again) so that I can get out by the Globe Plaza.

Okay, I feel better now.

Anyone else feel this way??

The Saga of Fort Rock Farm

I was really bummed out that I couldn't make it to the big ZBA meeting for Fort Rock Farm last Tuesday. No babysitter. Each day I am amazed at the amount of community involvement in the issue. I've been here 10 years and can't remember anything that even comes close. Maybe the Citizens For Smart Growth or whatever the anti-Wal-Mart group was. But even that dims in comparison to the scarcrow brigade.

No matter where I go these days, people are talking about the campaign to save the farm. We stopped in at the Tavern at River's Edge last night for a quick cocktail on the way home from dinner in Newburyport and even days after the meeting, it was all the buzz. Owner Jeff Roth said the issue has been great for business. People flocked to the bar after the meeting last week.

For those who missed what Alex Booth is calling the "near riot" in the downtown by people who couldn't get into the Town Hall, check out the piece by NHPR, which really captured the mood. Click here for the NPR piece.

Young Love

In preparation for their romantic cruise through the waters of Florida next week, Willie and Lynn got together for lunch today. Willie thinks she's cute but is not so sure about her forward and flirtatous ways (Note his skeptical sideways glance at her). Lynn made herself at home with Willie and decided to try a piece of his grilled cheese. To add to the romance, she fed him a graham cracker. Oh young love.

Big News Coming Soon

Big news is on the way on this blog. Here's a hint: I'm not pregnant. Curious? Check back next week for more clues.

Look Ma, No Hands

Turkey, Port and Portugal

We went to Kenny’s brother Brad’s house in Nashua for Thanksgiving. I have to admit I was a bit nervous about what we might eat. Brad’s wife Osvalda is from Portugal and had never cooked a Thanksgiving meal before. I love her Portugese feasts, which have a good quantity of meat (usually cooked in wine or beer with garlic), yummy Portugese sweet bread and wine, followed by dessert (usually made with some form of liquor or cordial), followed by Port.
But Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving.
And you need the mashed potatoes, stuffing, mushed orange vegetable of some kind and cranberry. You know the drill.
So I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What would a Portugese Thanksgiving look like? Would we eat drunk turkey?
We arrived to find the traditional Thanksgiving spread that would have put most cooks to shame. Willie turned on the charm and ate about five boxes of crackers before dinner, so alas I didn’t get to see his reaction to turkey, stuffing or the like. I did however get to see the reaction of someone else experiencing Thanksgiving for the first time. Kenny’s nephew Tim just married a girl from Australia. Her Australian cousin, Tami, was thrilled with Thanksgiving and the desserts. We had the standard fare–apple, pumpkin and mincemeat. But Ozvalda made a traditional Portugese pastry cake that--while I’ll probably be burning it off for the next month due to the butter content--was absolutely amazing.
I was glad that Ozvalda had been willing to embrace our cultural traditions with a Butterball and some spuds. And I was more than willing to embrace hers with a little snifter, or two, of Port. Yeah, twist my arm right? And how about a side of super Portugese pastry cake for the ride home.

I Am Thankful For.....

This year I am thankful for the fact that Kenny doesn't dress wee Willie to go out in public often. This morning was my morning to sleep in. We try to trade off on the weekend days so that for at least one day we get to sleep past the crack of dawn.
Just after 8 a.m. I arrived downstairs. Willie had on a red onsie that he outgrew months ago, unbuttoned with the flaps hanging out, paired with aqua blue pants. He looked, well, a bit of a mess.
"What's that?"
"That's a daddy outfit," Ken responded, before going on to explain that Willie had spilled coffee on his other shirt.
"Did you think to button the shirt, or tuck it in?"
He just laughed. "It's a daddy outfit."
Apparently that is supposed to be explanation enough.
Come on Willie, I said. We've got to make you presentable for the official family viewing of the turkey and the little boy.
And folks, this is why men need us in their lives--to make sure their clothes match. And I hope on this momentous day that Kenny (and Willie) are thankful for that.

A Word on the Holidays

So there we were in the car the other night. I had just made my first official entertaining meal in some time. And it looked and tasted great. I was on a roll.
"I can't wait for Christmas," I told Ken. "I'm going to have so much fun making appetizers. I think I'm going to make little spinach tortilla roll ups that I form into a triangle shape and then slice and put on toothpicks. They'll look like little Christmas trees. Isn't that great?"
He rolled his eyes. "Are you on crack?"
Oh that's right, I said, You're the Christmas crab.

REMINDER: STAY TUNED TO THIS BLOG FOR A BIG ANNOUCEMENT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

Eating for Two, Again

Lately I've been feeling great sympathy for those women in the before and after shots on those supermarket women's magazines. You know, the stay at home moms that gain like 300 pounds and then have the nice "after" photos where they're skinny and healthy.
Why you ask?
I have two words for you--children's menu.
You know, chicken fingers, fries, grilled cheese, mini pizzas or in the case of Margarita's, goey cheese filled quesadillas.
Willie loves to go out to eat. He especially loves Margaritas. He also likes Applebee's, The Sylvan Street Grill in Salisbury and well, just about any restaurant where he can act cute and flirt with blond waitresses. And of course, eat grilled cheese. Did you ever notice how much better grilled cheese at a restaurant tastes than the one you make at home? Addictive, that's how much better. Willie usually only eats half of his grilled cheese. I usually can't resist eating one piece and then of course feel bad that it would be thrown out if he doesn't eat it. Maybe this is because I had that whole starving children in Africa thing drilled into my head when I was a kid. Who knows, but the next thing you know I've eaten a whole half of his sandwich. Plus my own.
I know this is a slippery slope.
And I'm sliding away. How about those pieces of french toast sticks he doesn't want to eat in the morning? Yummy. What about mac and cheese? Even better.
I'm starting to feel like a crazed pregnant woman eating all sorts of food and blaming it on her cravings. (For the record-NO I AM NOT PREGNANT AGAIN).
I hope you don't pick up Women's World in the near future and see my kid's menu inflated body on the cover advertising the next great fad diet. How about the grilled cheese diet?

Another Deli?

My super secret sources tell me this old cabinet shop next to Walgreens may soon become a New York style deli. The good thing is that if you get heartburn from that New York pastrami or other deli delights, a tub of Maalox is only steps away.

By Land, By Air and By Sea

The ongoing and very visible campaign to Save Fort Rock Farm took to the river this morning. An alert reader and local watchdog snapped this photo of a boat with the Save Fort Rock Farm flag Saturday morning.

With the ZBA meeting only days away, the issue is really heating up. Several billboard-like signs went up on Newfields Road this past week and check out the Ioka too. I just hope I get a seat at the meeting, or atleast can get inside the Town Hall.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Avenue

Exciting news for those of us that love to go out for breakfast but don't have the patience to wait in line at the few spots in town offering an egg and toast. The old Pizza Hut on Portsmouth Avenue is sporting shiny new silver accents on the outside and a nifty new sign went up Friday. Steve's Diner will open soon and one of the owners told me it will be all homemade food. Here's the best part--it's not just breakfast. It will be open for lunch and dinner too. Hooray.

Willie Is Ready for Snow

I got Willie boy a new Thomas the Train hat but it was way too small. He tried on some of grammie's hats instead.

Silence and More Silence

Entering day two of no voice. I thought it was back this morning and although it was not 100 percent, I tried to talk. Bad move. Ten minutes of talking equals another day of a lost voice. Ken thinks he is very funny as he keeps saying "Am I in heaven? It's so quiet here" or "What, did you say something?" Payback is a *@#$% I tell him....

Do We Need More Tacos?

Okay, so we all know this place has some sort of bad luck attached to it, right? I mean every place that goes in here goes out of business. Remember the Li Li? What about the Ho Kong? The New Old Ho Kong? And the Old New Old Ho Kong?

So then why would someone think to start a taco stand less than 1/2 mile from the big shiny new Margarita's up the street? I don't get it. But then again, this is Exeter. If two restaurants of the same ethnic food style couldn't survive within 1/2 mile from each other than there's no explanation for all of the pizza and Chinese food joints in this town. They're still in business.

Can You Hear Me??

I woke up this morning and couldn’t talk. To me, this is almost a fate worse than death.
I’ve never lost my voice before. Being a bit stubborn, I kept trying to talk this morning. But no matter how I tried, the only thing that came out was a horrible rasping sound like someone who’s smoked way too many cigarettes. I tried whispering. This was extremely difficult and even worse for my grandmother who has a hearing aid. I tried to mime to her. Little Willie just laughed at me as usual while he woofed down his raisin toast.
"This is going to be the quietest day of your life," my husband told him.
Then one of my editors called. "Oh my God, the girl who talks more than anyone I know can’t talk??"
But I can channel all that frustration of not being able to talk into writing. It reminds me of the story of how I ended up in journalism in a way. I was in my junior year of college, majoring in, yes, it’s true, horses. I had gotten to the point where I was riding some of the more dangerous horses. I was falling off a lot. I started to think that perhaps long term stability was not a part of a career with horses. I wondered what I could do if I fell off one of these horses and landed in a body cast.
I can write, I thought. Yes, I could even be one of those people who writes by using a pen in my mouth if it was a bad fall.
And so here I am. Writing.
After looking up some self care tips for what to do when losing your voice, it appears this is all I’m going to be doing. One of the myriad of online health forums advised that I: moisten my throat, use a humidifier, avoid talking, give your voice a break, and avoid whispering.
My husband, upon hearing this, said, "Lara, I mean this with all due respect, shut the blankety blank blank up."
Apparently it’s going to be me and my computer for a while.....

Home Improvement Time

So my long suffering Ken has taken the day off tomorrow to build a brick walkway. This is a good thing since we will no longer be walking over the nice muddy loam on our newly rebuilt lawn and sinking in up to our ankles. This is bad in the sense that the weatherman says it's going to snow tomorrow. But hey, who am I to discourage him.. Stay tuned

Entering the World of High Technology.. Again

So, I know, I've complained before about high technology. More so as it relates to trying to get my internet set up with some guy in India, etc. I thought I'd give this blogging thing a try. After all, it's the new hip thing to do. And (sit down for this one) until a few months ago I had no idea what it was all about. So here goes.....
Want to know what' s going on around Exeter? Like, for example, what's happening at the bad luck restaurant on Portsmouth Avenue next to the nail salon?? Check the blog. Chances are I know. And I can't keep it to myself.
Stay tuned for a major annoucement on this blog in the very near future...