February Footsteps
Saturday, February 28 · 9-11am · Newfields & Exeter
Guided by: Frank Mitchell, naturalist and recently-retired UNH Cooperative Extension Land and Water Conservation Specialist
Located at the confluence of the Piscassic River, Fresh Brook and Beech Hill Brook, and nestled amid several hundred acres of unfragmented conserved lands, these 450 acres are owned by NH Fish and Game with a conservation easement held by the Southeast Land Trust. We’ll walk or snowshoe to explore its uplands, learning about winter ecology while looking for animal tracks and signs.
This field trip is free and open to the public.
Registration is required -- please call 603-778-6088 or email kmccormack@seltnh.org. Directions will be provided to registrants.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
11 Water Street starts Brunch (and more deals)
Chip and Dorine Caswell at 11 Water Street are offering some great deals at the restaurant these days and have started working with Serendipity and the Inn by the Bandstand to offer discounts.
Also, they've started brunch on Sundays, which made me happy as I'm always looking for a new spot to eat after church with grammie and Will.
Check out the latest news at the downtown restauarant:
For the month of February... Dine with 11 Water Street and stay at the Inn by the Bandstand in Exeter and receive 20% off. Go to their web site to view their Valentine's Weekend package: http://www.innbythebandstand.com/.
THURSDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
Every THURSDAY is Ladies Night at Serendipity! Enjoy wine and cheese while shopping for your favorite eco-friendly fair trade items! For shopping at Serendipity of Exeter, you will receive 15% off at 11 Water Street! Go to their web site for more information: http://www.serendipityofexeter.com/.
Also, they've started brunch on Sundays, which made me happy as I'm always looking for a new spot to eat after church with grammie and Will.
Check out the latest news at the downtown restauarant:
For the month of February... Dine with 11 Water Street and stay at the Inn by the Bandstand in Exeter and receive 20% off. Go to their web site to view their Valentine's Weekend package: http://www.innbythebandstand.com/.
THURSDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
Every THURSDAY is Ladies Night at Serendipity! Enjoy wine and cheese while shopping for your favorite eco-friendly fair trade items! For shopping at Serendipity of Exeter, you will receive 15% off at 11 Water Street! Go to their web site for more information: http://www.serendipityofexeter.com/.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Welcome Back Alex
Local attorney Alex Yiokarinis is back with a new blog about legal questions and issues. Go check him out and say hey:
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The latest from www.seacoastparentsconnect.com
From my blog at www.seacoastparentsconnect.com
So, we watched an alleged children’s movie with Willie this weekend and I’m sort of wondering if it was a bit too soon. Disney movies aren’t as sweet as they used to be I guess. Or I guess I never paid as much attention to age appropriate material and expressions and how they might be misconstrued by little ones. And I have also realized that children’s movies are no longer made just for children, but their parents as well. Have you noticed how many jokes in kid’s movies these days are really adult jokes, almost thrown in to make the adults feel like they too can enjoy a day at the movie with kids? We watched the Cars movie a few weeks back and I hate to admit, as an adult, I kind of liked it. Even my husband said, “That’s a pretty good movie….. for a cartoon.”
The latest movie event goes back to Christmas when Willie’s godfather Al gave him one of those singing cards. The card had Shrek on it and sang that “Hey now you’re an all-star” song made popular in the movie. Since then, the card has become worn, the song has worn out, but Willie continues to carry it with him everywhere. I thought it might be cute to let him watch some of the movie.
And so I headed out to Blockbuster in Stratham, rented it, and returned home for our big movie event.
Ok, so in the first five minutes there are a few off-color type jokes that are made, but I felt like they would have gone right over most kids’ heads. It seemed like they were almost geared toward the parents. But we carried on until the scary men with flaming pitch forks came to kill Shrek.
Fast forward.
We did okay until Shrek and his little Eddie Murphy donkey sidekick got to the castle to rescue the princess from the dragon--big scary flame breathing dragon.
Fast forward.
Okay, again until the Robin Hood guy comes and gets into a kung fu match with the princess.
Fast forward again.
Luckily, it seems that little kids don’t seem to notice all of these fast forwards, which you can make up a story about, like, ‘oh something was wrong with the DVD player’ and they buy it.
We made it through the movie, with many fast forwards, and I was starting to wonder if I had completely traumatized Willie.
He was fine, though obsessed with saying “Shreek” over and over again. And he has also taken to walking around the house with big exaggerated steps and saying in a deep voice, “I’m the bad king” before he gives off a “hahaha” evil laugh.
I think the Shrek video is going back tomorrow. But it got me wondering how many more of these so-called children’s movies I will have to fast forward through. I’m not saying they’re bad movies. But do we need to have a pre-screening of movies with the adults before we decide if they’re ok to show the kids?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
What's it like to work at a weekly paper?
Join the Exeter Historical Society on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:30 pm (with refreshments at 7 p.m.), for a presentation by Harry Thayer, entitled Running a Weekly Newspaper. The program will take place at the Exeter Historical Society, 47 Front Street, Exeter, and is free and open to the public. Donations to help offset the cost of programming are always welcome and greatly appreciated.
Harry Thayer has a long personal history of working with the Exeter News-Letter. He worked from 1960 to 1970 as a linotype operator and was appointed general manager in 1970. Thayer served as the co-owner and co-publisher between 1973 and 1983, and was the editor, president and treasurer throughout most of the 1970s. He also was the business manager and president of Rockingham County Newspapers (owned by Ottaway Newspapers) in the 1980s. His presentation will focus on the greater "family" of co-workers at the Exeter News-Letter and the conversion from hot metal-letterpress to cold-type-offset printing interspersed with history and humor.
Harry Thayer has a long personal history of working with the Exeter News-Letter. He worked from 1960 to 1970 as a linotype operator and was appointed general manager in 1970. Thayer served as the co-owner and co-publisher between 1973 and 1983, and was the editor, president and treasurer throughout most of the 1970s. He also was the business manager and president of Rockingham County Newspapers (owned by Ottaway Newspapers) in the 1980s. His presentation will focus on the greater "family" of co-workers at the Exeter News-Letter and the conversion from hot metal-letterpress to cold-type-offset printing interspersed with history and humor.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Exeter Dining Deals
So I'm on this email list every week from the Taste Magazine. Lately they've been having this great deal where you get a $50 gift certificate to area restaurants for only $25. Up until now, the restaurants have all been out of the area (or my range of safe travel and get home in time for babysitter). But this week, the deal is at The Tavern at River's Edge in Exeter, one of my favs!
Check it out at:
http://www.tasteoftheseacoast.com/Taste-Deals/Taste-Deals.html
Check it out at:
http://www.tasteoftheseacoast.com/Taste-Deals/Taste-Deals.html
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Fresh Veggies--Delivered!
By Lara Bricker
HAMPTON__Jeffrey Schick is like an old fashioned milkman with a bit of a modern twist.
Instead of jugs of milk, Schick’s customers will receive a weekly selection of fresh organic fruit and vegetables delivered to their door. The 33-year-old Hampton man is set to begin delivering on the Seacoast the week of March 16 through his new business Waithaka Organics.
Customers can chose all fruit, all vegetables or a mix of both, but the actual selection will vary each week depending on what’s in season or available. Plans will start at $30 a week, which he felt was in line with the amount people spent in a $100 per week grocery bill on fruit and vegetables. The company will offer two price plans to start, the $30 per week or the $45 per week but customers can add on items like natural honey, handmade peanut butter or maple syrup if interested.
“We’re trying to replace what you would normally buy at the store with a delivery service, where we cut out all of the handling process of regular store bought produce,” he said.
By that, Schick said, he means the number of times that fruit and vegetables are handled and repacked from the time they are harvested. Most produce spends an average of four to six days on display in a grocery store before it is purchased, he said. “It is subject to artificial light for those four days. It is touched, sneezed on, coughed on and handled,” he said. “It’s just handled so much that it starts to lose its integrity and beyond that, it’s taste.”
Schick aims to cut that handling process down considerably and said all fruit and vegetables from Waithaka Organics will be handled by employees wearing gloves. “This fruit is handled with the respect it deserves,” he said.
While the concept of organic delivery is new on the Seacoast, it is one that is growing in popularity across the country, especially on the west coast. Schick sees part of his role as educating customers about the difference between the types of organic produce available today like certified organic versus certified naturally grown.
He is still growing his network of local suppliers and hopes to find a way to buy locally while still keeping the cost affordable for his customers.
He plans to use certified naturally grown fruit and vegetables from both local farmers and a wholesale organic source in Boston. “That’s the kind of produce we’re going to be buying,” he said. “It’s produce in its most natural form that you can buy.”
That certified naturally grown designation fits with Schick’s own philosophical approach to growing fresh fruit, using natural compost. “They are all-natural approaches to make sure you are buying the most naturally, wholly nutritious piece of produce on the market,” he said. “You do that by buying off of farmers that grow with a process that doesn’t involve pesticides or bureaucratic regulations.”
Customers won’t be able to pick exactly what they would like each week as Schick plans to buy in bulk in order to keep prices affordable. But he does plan to buy with his customers taste in mind. Each customer will fill out a questionnaire when they sign up for the service in which they give an idea of their preferences. Schick plans to use that to buy with an eye toward what the group as a whole likes, while offering certain staples each week such as lettuce. “I want to know all of these families and what they like to eat and what they don’t like,” he said.
If there is a week where a more unusual fruit or vegetable is included in the reusable plastic tote each customer receives, he plans to include a recipe suggestion for the food. “We want people to get creative from a culinary standpoint,” Schick said. “We’re going to try to mix it up.”
The new venture is a huge career shift for Schick who has worked as a financial planner in Portsmouth since 2002. He became “disheartened” by the current scene on Wall Street, and knew he needed to make a lifestyle change. “I realized very quickly I was in something I didn’t feel was an honest business,” he said.
He spent last summer apprenticing under organic farmer Dick Wollmar in North Hampton and knew he’d found his calling. “The farming is really where my heart is, working on the land, working with the land,” he said, adding his long-term goal is to grow all of the food he delivers himself. “Our connection with the earth is something we should be focused on in an every day basis.”
For more information, call 800-714-4147 or e-mail jeff@waithakafarm.com. The company website http://www.waithakafarm.com/ is currently under construction and should be online in the near future.
HAMPTON__Jeffrey Schick is like an old fashioned milkman with a bit of a modern twist.
Instead of jugs of milk, Schick’s customers will receive a weekly selection of fresh organic fruit and vegetables delivered to their door. The 33-year-old Hampton man is set to begin delivering on the Seacoast the week of March 16 through his new business Waithaka Organics.
Customers can chose all fruit, all vegetables or a mix of both, but the actual selection will vary each week depending on what’s in season or available. Plans will start at $30 a week, which he felt was in line with the amount people spent in a $100 per week grocery bill on fruit and vegetables. The company will offer two price plans to start, the $30 per week or the $45 per week but customers can add on items like natural honey, handmade peanut butter or maple syrup if interested.
“We’re trying to replace what you would normally buy at the store with a delivery service, where we cut out all of the handling process of regular store bought produce,” he said.
By that, Schick said, he means the number of times that fruit and vegetables are handled and repacked from the time they are harvested. Most produce spends an average of four to six days on display in a grocery store before it is purchased, he said. “It is subject to artificial light for those four days. It is touched, sneezed on, coughed on and handled,” he said. “It’s just handled so much that it starts to lose its integrity and beyond that, it’s taste.”
Schick aims to cut that handling process down considerably and said all fruit and vegetables from Waithaka Organics will be handled by employees wearing gloves. “This fruit is handled with the respect it deserves,” he said.
While the concept of organic delivery is new on the Seacoast, it is one that is growing in popularity across the country, especially on the west coast. Schick sees part of his role as educating customers about the difference between the types of organic produce available today like certified organic versus certified naturally grown.
He is still growing his network of local suppliers and hopes to find a way to buy locally while still keeping the cost affordable for his customers.
He plans to use certified naturally grown fruit and vegetables from both local farmers and a wholesale organic source in Boston. “That’s the kind of produce we’re going to be buying,” he said. “It’s produce in its most natural form that you can buy.”
That certified naturally grown designation fits with Schick’s own philosophical approach to growing fresh fruit, using natural compost. “They are all-natural approaches to make sure you are buying the most naturally, wholly nutritious piece of produce on the market,” he said. “You do that by buying off of farmers that grow with a process that doesn’t involve pesticides or bureaucratic regulations.”
Customers won’t be able to pick exactly what they would like each week as Schick plans to buy in bulk in order to keep prices affordable. But he does plan to buy with his customers taste in mind. Each customer will fill out a questionnaire when they sign up for the service in which they give an idea of their preferences. Schick plans to use that to buy with an eye toward what the group as a whole likes, while offering certain staples each week such as lettuce. “I want to know all of these families and what they like to eat and what they don’t like,” he said.
If there is a week where a more unusual fruit or vegetable is included in the reusable plastic tote each customer receives, he plans to include a recipe suggestion for the food. “We want people to get creative from a culinary standpoint,” Schick said. “We’re going to try to mix it up.”
The new venture is a huge career shift for Schick who has worked as a financial planner in Portsmouth since 2002. He became “disheartened” by the current scene on Wall Street, and knew he needed to make a lifestyle change. “I realized very quickly I was in something I didn’t feel was an honest business,” he said.
He spent last summer apprenticing under organic farmer Dick Wollmar in North Hampton and knew he’d found his calling. “The farming is really where my heart is, working on the land, working with the land,” he said, adding his long-term goal is to grow all of the food he delivers himself. “Our connection with the earth is something we should be focused on in an every day basis.”
For more information, call 800-714-4147 or e-mail jeff@waithakafarm.com. The company website http://www.waithakafarm.com/ is currently under construction and should be online in the near future.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Stress Management Workshops for Women
Women and Stress Management
The staff of Atlantic Complementary has been hearing lots of stories lately about stressful events in women's lives. We've decided to do our part to help manage this stress.During the month of March, we are offering 4 workshops which will include an information session, discussion and a group hypnosis session on a topic that women will find useful.
If you are local to Hampton, NH, I hope you'll sign up and attend.If your group or company would like these workshops provided to your members or employers please call.
Guys, if you want equal time in the form of male discussion groups, please be in touch. I am very happy to provide them.
Click here to download our Flyer - PDF
Sharon M. O'Connor, RN,
CEO Atlantic Complementary Medical Solutions, LLC2
Dearborn Avenue
Hampton, NH 03842
888-441-3332
The staff of Atlantic Complementary has been hearing lots of stories lately about stressful events in women's lives. We've decided to do our part to help manage this stress.During the month of March, we are offering 4 workshops which will include an information session, discussion and a group hypnosis session on a topic that women will find useful.
If you are local to Hampton, NH, I hope you'll sign up and attend.If your group or company would like these workshops provided to your members or employers please call.
Guys, if you want equal time in the form of male discussion groups, please be in touch. I am very happy to provide them.
Click here to download our Flyer - PDF
Sharon M. O'Connor, RN,
CEO Atlantic Complementary Medical Solutions, LLC2
Dearborn Avenue
Hampton, NH 03842
888-441-3332
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Party in the Downtown of Exeter
Seacoast residents now have a new and unique nightlife option available to them in the form of the “Flush” Funk & Fashion series.
Combining a fashion show with a live concert performance, and beer, wine & food tastings with DJ sets, TVP Records founder Scott Ruffner has created a seamless 3 hour experience featuring a variety of homegrown businesses and artistic talents.
An Exeter native, Ruffner (aka Sir Buck) is an award-winning music producer, DJ and songwriter known for his original funky sound. He recently released a new compilation CD, also called "Flush", featuring some of the area’s top musicians including members of The Head and The Press Project.
“When the album was finished, I knew we had something special,” said Ruffner, “but I knew it would be difficult to present the music live in a traditional nightclub setting, not to mention the fact that the format itself is all but extinct.”
The CD was quickly well-received, with The Wire calling it “Part Sly Stone and Parliament Funkadelic, part Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, part R. Kelly and Gangstarr, the music on "Flush" pays tribute to the genres of soul and hip-hop with contemporary takes on 1970s fare.....Each repeated listen enhances appreciation of its comic funk and soulful hip-hop musicology. ” Lofty praise for sure, but Ruffner still knew he’d need a fresh idea to draw people in.
Thinking of ways to promote the project, he remembered a few fashion shows he was involved with during his time in Minneapolis when his band Vanguard performed with runway models at Prince’s Glam Slam and the famed First Avenue nightclub. He quickly realized that foundation would be a perfect fit for combining the original funky grooves of “Flush” and the ubiquitous trend of Facebook photo-op nightlife. He had already spoken with local designer Lisa Cantalupo (Sexy Skins) about collaborating, but after a conversation with Dana DeNiro, owner of Luna Chics in Exeter, Ruffner knew the idea could also serve as a good promotional opportunity for area boutiques.
“Retailers really like the idea of showcasing their fashions directly to potential customers -- and they have a lot of fun at the event.”
Area salons also jumped at the chance to offer their hair & makeup services for the shows. In addition to music and fashion, some of the events will also include food, wine and beer tasting.
"In these tough economic times, people are forced to be choosy about how they spend their discretionary income. We're giving them a chance to come out and groove to some great music, check out some cool fashions, and sample some first rate food and drinks. On top of that, there’s prize drawings and giveaways — now that’s some bang for your buck!" said Ruffner.
The first show of the series was held in November downstairs at the now closed Ioka Theater and was a sellout with dozens of people turned away. Positive proof that if an event is worth the time and money, people in the Seacoast will come out and support locally based entertainment.
The Flush series will be rockin’ The Exeter Town Hall the night before Valentine’s Day on February 13th, as well as upcoming dates in Boston, Newburyport and Manchester.
Combining a fashion show with a live concert performance, and beer, wine & food tastings with DJ sets, TVP Records founder Scott Ruffner has created a seamless 3 hour experience featuring a variety of homegrown businesses and artistic talents.
An Exeter native, Ruffner (aka Sir Buck) is an award-winning music producer, DJ and songwriter known for his original funky sound. He recently released a new compilation CD, also called "Flush", featuring some of the area’s top musicians including members of The Head and The Press Project.
“When the album was finished, I knew we had something special,” said Ruffner, “but I knew it would be difficult to present the music live in a traditional nightclub setting, not to mention the fact that the format itself is all but extinct.”
The CD was quickly well-received, with The Wire calling it “Part Sly Stone and Parliament Funkadelic, part Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, part R. Kelly and Gangstarr, the music on "Flush" pays tribute to the genres of soul and hip-hop with contemporary takes on 1970s fare.....Each repeated listen enhances appreciation of its comic funk and soulful hip-hop musicology. ” Lofty praise for sure, but Ruffner still knew he’d need a fresh idea to draw people in.
Thinking of ways to promote the project, he remembered a few fashion shows he was involved with during his time in Minneapolis when his band Vanguard performed with runway models at Prince’s Glam Slam and the famed First Avenue nightclub. He quickly realized that foundation would be a perfect fit for combining the original funky grooves of “Flush” and the ubiquitous trend of Facebook photo-op nightlife. He had already spoken with local designer Lisa Cantalupo (Sexy Skins) about collaborating, but after a conversation with Dana DeNiro, owner of Luna Chics in Exeter, Ruffner knew the idea could also serve as a good promotional opportunity for area boutiques.
“Retailers really like the idea of showcasing their fashions directly to potential customers -- and they have a lot of fun at the event.”
Area salons also jumped at the chance to offer their hair & makeup services for the shows. In addition to music and fashion, some of the events will also include food, wine and beer tasting.
"In these tough economic times, people are forced to be choosy about how they spend their discretionary income. We're giving them a chance to come out and groove to some great music, check out some cool fashions, and sample some first rate food and drinks. On top of that, there’s prize drawings and giveaways — now that’s some bang for your buck!" said Ruffner.
The first show of the series was held in November downstairs at the now closed Ioka Theater and was a sellout with dozens of people turned away. Positive proof that if an event is worth the time and money, people in the Seacoast will come out and support locally based entertainment.
The Flush series will be rockin’ The Exeter Town Hall the night before Valentine’s Day on February 13th, as well as upcoming dates in Boston, Newburyport and Manchester.
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