Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Deli Coming Soon
My sources were apparently correct when they told me that a New York Deli was coming in next to Walgreen's on Portsmouth Ave. The sign is up Gandolpf's or something like that.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Take Back the Living Room
My Latest Post on http://www.seacoastparentsconnect.com/
I used to have a living room. Really, I did. A place where adults could hang out and socialize. A place to relax and watch TV. A place to... well..... I can’t even remember what other purpose it served because it’s been so long since I’ve seen mine.
You see, it has taken by eminent domain.
For the toys. The post office needs land. They get it through eminent domain. Other government entities. The same thing. The Republic of the Toys. Apparently they are now on the list too.
I can practically hear the toys lobbying as they took bit by bit of all visible floor space in the living room. Toys need space too. Equal rights for toys. Toys take priority now, they whisper as one by one they came to roost. You didn’t really think you were going to keep this room for the adults, did you?
I remember vividly saying that I wouldn’t be one of those people who lost their house to the toys. The toys would have their designated spot. And they would stay there. This went along with the speech about how my child would not be inundated with toys. He would learn to be creative and didn’t need a lot of toys.
Beep, beep, beep. That’s the sound of the tractor trailer that has been parked out front of my house for the past two years, dispensing new toys on a regular basis. It has voices with it too. No I’m not hearing voices. But all grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and random friends hear the voices. The voices say things like "oh he’s bored with all those old toys" or "no lead here, really, well, at least not until the scheduled recall six months from now" and "this toy is guaranteed to boost his IQ and get him early admission to Harvard."
There is now a slide in the middle of the living room. Yes, that’s right. A real live slide. You know like the ones in people’s yards. Outside. Not in their living rooms. The slide was a Christmas gift, and a nice one, but obviously in the middle of winter not one that is erected outside in its natural habitat. And so, like the geese that go south in winter, the slide went up in the middle of the living room.
It might have been due to the voices again. "Hey, Hey, he really needs to try it out, why don’t you set it up. You can take it down soon, really."
Ha.
There were so many toys last week that we couldn’t even find the toys that went together. And that’s when I said enough is enough. It’s time to fight back. It’s time to take back the living room.
And so I went to Wal-Mart. I purchased an assortment of nice big plastic storage containers. I had a plan. These containers would sort and hold the toys. They would fit under the train table. Hey, I could even toss a cover over the train table to hide all toys when an adult night of entertaining was in order.
Willie had other plans. He found it was a great game to sit in the middle of plastic containers while I sorted toys into them. A fun new game. He lugged plastic containers around the house. It’s amazing that these simple, boring old containers could be so riveting for him. (This goes back to my theory about children not needing fancy toys all the time).
I eventually sorted the toys into the four containers. They each went to their designated storage spot. I almost have a living room again. (Well aside from the giant slide still there). I’m going to enjoy it while I can because somehow I fear the toys might win the next few rounds.
I used to have a living room. Really, I did. A place where adults could hang out and socialize. A place to relax and watch TV. A place to... well..... I can’t even remember what other purpose it served because it’s been so long since I’ve seen mine.
You see, it has taken by eminent domain.
For the toys. The post office needs land. They get it through eminent domain. Other government entities. The same thing. The Republic of the Toys. Apparently they are now on the list too.
I can practically hear the toys lobbying as they took bit by bit of all visible floor space in the living room. Toys need space too. Equal rights for toys. Toys take priority now, they whisper as one by one they came to roost. You didn’t really think you were going to keep this room for the adults, did you?
I remember vividly saying that I wouldn’t be one of those people who lost their house to the toys. The toys would have their designated spot. And they would stay there. This went along with the speech about how my child would not be inundated with toys. He would learn to be creative and didn’t need a lot of toys.
Beep, beep, beep. That’s the sound of the tractor trailer that has been parked out front of my house for the past two years, dispensing new toys on a regular basis. It has voices with it too. No I’m not hearing voices. But all grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and random friends hear the voices. The voices say things like "oh he’s bored with all those old toys" or "no lead here, really, well, at least not until the scheduled recall six months from now" and "this toy is guaranteed to boost his IQ and get him early admission to Harvard."
There is now a slide in the middle of the living room. Yes, that’s right. A real live slide. You know like the ones in people’s yards. Outside. Not in their living rooms. The slide was a Christmas gift, and a nice one, but obviously in the middle of winter not one that is erected outside in its natural habitat. And so, like the geese that go south in winter, the slide went up in the middle of the living room.
It might have been due to the voices again. "Hey, Hey, he really needs to try it out, why don’t you set it up. You can take it down soon, really."
Ha.
There were so many toys last week that we couldn’t even find the toys that went together. And that’s when I said enough is enough. It’s time to fight back. It’s time to take back the living room.
And so I went to Wal-Mart. I purchased an assortment of nice big plastic storage containers. I had a plan. These containers would sort and hold the toys. They would fit under the train table. Hey, I could even toss a cover over the train table to hide all toys when an adult night of entertaining was in order.
Willie had other plans. He found it was a great game to sit in the middle of plastic containers while I sorted toys into them. A fun new game. He lugged plastic containers around the house. It’s amazing that these simple, boring old containers could be so riveting for him. (This goes back to my theory about children not needing fancy toys all the time).
I eventually sorted the toys into the four containers. They each went to their designated storage spot. I almost have a living room again. (Well aside from the giant slide still there). I’m going to enjoy it while I can because somehow I fear the toys might win the next few rounds.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Divine Music
So I was zipping down Lincoln Street this afternoon on the way to Rockingham Feed, when I saw a sign in front of the Divine Cafe.
It was for an acoustic jam night Thursdays.
How cool is this? Especially in Exeter where we try, and try, and try again to get a live music venue. I know Bonnie, one of the owners, has a good music connection in her nephew Dave who plays guitar with Truffle. Perhaps he'll make a cameo?
Of course, I checked out their web site www.divinecafe.org when I got home and here's the scoop:
Join us in creating a NEW music community in Exeter…a place for musicians of ALL abilities, ages and styles to RELAX, NOURISH (with both music & fare) LISTEN, SHARE, TEACH, LEARN, ENCOURAGE, IMPROV, COLLABORATE & PLAY!
Acoustic Jam Night and Dinner at Divine Café & Grille
Thursdays
Beginning April 3rd
Even if you don't play, stop by and enjoy some fare while listening to our local musicians!
50 Lincoln Street
603-773-2233
Serving Dinner from 5 – 9 pm
Jam until ?
Everyone is Welcome!
BYOB
It was for an acoustic jam night Thursdays.
How cool is this? Especially in Exeter where we try, and try, and try again to get a live music venue. I know Bonnie, one of the owners, has a good music connection in her nephew Dave who plays guitar with Truffle. Perhaps he'll make a cameo?
Of course, I checked out their web site www.divinecafe.org when I got home and here's the scoop:
Join us in creating a NEW music community in Exeter…a place for musicians of ALL abilities, ages and styles to RELAX, NOURISH (with both music & fare) LISTEN, SHARE, TEACH, LEARN, ENCOURAGE, IMPROV, COLLABORATE & PLAY!
Acoustic Jam Night and Dinner at Divine Café & Grille
Thursdays
Beginning April 3rd
Even if you don't play, stop by and enjoy some fare while listening to our local musicians!
50 Lincoln Street
603-773-2233
Serving Dinner from 5 – 9 pm
Jam until ?
Everyone is Welcome!
BYOB
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Breaking News at the Bandstand
It's 8:50 p.m. on Thursday night and there is breaking news on the scanner.Stop the presses.
A beaver is meandering around by the bandstand.
The police are all responding to "the scene"
The first update went like this from a police officer:
"I don't think he's sick, I think he's lost."
Pause.
"He's got traffic all messed up."Pause.
"Now he's going toward the String Bridge."
So apparently it's not only cows that stop traffic in New Hampshire.
Stay tuned for updates from the front lines of the beaver story
Eight is Enough
Why would you want more kids when one came out so cute??My latest post from http://www.seacoastparentsconnect.com/:
Two of my husband’s co-workers took him aside recently to tell him they saw "the look" on my face when they’d recently seen me. This "look" was apparently the look of a woman crazed to get pregnant for a second time.
What are they smoking, I asked as soon as he told me this. I mean really, don’t people ever just let you alone to decide when, and if, you want to look like a giant watermelon for nine months? As soon as you announce your plans to get married, the first thing people ask is "so when will you try for children?" Before your doctor can snip the umbilical cord, those same people are on the "so, when will you start trying for your second one?"
I won’t, I respond.
This answer is apparently the same as announcing that you plan to jump out of a plane, dye your hair green or something similarly crazy. Or so I have deduced from the look on people’s faces when I say, "I’m happy with one.’
But who will take care of you when you get old?
Because you know at the age of 31, I am already plotting my escape to the nursing home.
Oh, I don’t know, maybe by then I will have become a famous author and take care of myself. Maybe I’ll just drop dead at the age of 65 so that I don’t have to worry about it.
But come on already, what’s up with this incessant need for women to get pregnant right away after they’ve just had a baby? I couldn’t believe how soon some of the mommies I know started getting that hushed tone as they confided to each other "we’re trying" or "we hope to be pregnant again in two months."
I meanwhile was taking my birth control pills like candy. Hey I’m not against taking two at a time, you know just as a precautionary measure. (I’m kidding of course).
It’s hard enough having one child, I can’t imagine having two. More power to those people who have signed up for the breeding bonanza, but I think I’d go nuts with two. With one child, there are levels of getting back up to speed. In my case, we’re approaching the two year birthday in July, and I am almost feeling like I might be up to half speed. I lost the baby weight (a year after the baby), I finally got him to sleep through the night, I have a line up of babysitters so that I can go out and be an adult. And thank goodness I can have a glass of wine again. (Of course due to said pregnancy and baby, my body chemistry has decided that one glass is okay, two might pass but three means instantaneous headache). But I’m starting to feel like I can at least have a balance again of baby, work, home, husband. I fear that the husband time component of that list might be knocked out due to lack of time if I added another baby.
So yes, I guess you could say I’m missing the female gene that causes me to think about the going through that all over again. Apparently this was part of the same gene that instills in women the knowledge of how to apply make up or style their hair. This is twice as unfortunate since now I will have no one to style my hair when I am old and in the nursing home.. Maybe there is something to be said for having another child.
Two of my husband’s co-workers took him aside recently to tell him they saw "the look" on my face when they’d recently seen me. This "look" was apparently the look of a woman crazed to get pregnant for a second time.
What are they smoking, I asked as soon as he told me this. I mean really, don’t people ever just let you alone to decide when, and if, you want to look like a giant watermelon for nine months? As soon as you announce your plans to get married, the first thing people ask is "so when will you try for children?" Before your doctor can snip the umbilical cord, those same people are on the "so, when will you start trying for your second one?"
I won’t, I respond.
This answer is apparently the same as announcing that you plan to jump out of a plane, dye your hair green or something similarly crazy. Or so I have deduced from the look on people’s faces when I say, "I’m happy with one.’
But who will take care of you when you get old?
Because you know at the age of 31, I am already plotting my escape to the nursing home.
Oh, I don’t know, maybe by then I will have become a famous author and take care of myself. Maybe I’ll just drop dead at the age of 65 so that I don’t have to worry about it.
But come on already, what’s up with this incessant need for women to get pregnant right away after they’ve just had a baby? I couldn’t believe how soon some of the mommies I know started getting that hushed tone as they confided to each other "we’re trying" or "we hope to be pregnant again in two months."
I meanwhile was taking my birth control pills like candy. Hey I’m not against taking two at a time, you know just as a precautionary measure. (I’m kidding of course).
It’s hard enough having one child, I can’t imagine having two. More power to those people who have signed up for the breeding bonanza, but I think I’d go nuts with two. With one child, there are levels of getting back up to speed. In my case, we’re approaching the two year birthday in July, and I am almost feeling like I might be up to half speed. I lost the baby weight (a year after the baby), I finally got him to sleep through the night, I have a line up of babysitters so that I can go out and be an adult. And thank goodness I can have a glass of wine again. (Of course due to said pregnancy and baby, my body chemistry has decided that one glass is okay, two might pass but three means instantaneous headache). But I’m starting to feel like I can at least have a balance again of baby, work, home, husband. I fear that the husband time component of that list might be knocked out due to lack of time if I added another baby.
So yes, I guess you could say I’m missing the female gene that causes me to think about the going through that all over again. Apparently this was part of the same gene that instills in women the knowledge of how to apply make up or style their hair. This is twice as unfortunate since now I will have no one to style my hair when I am old and in the nursing home.. Maybe there is something to be said for having another child.
Lawyer Turns Author in Retirement
So I've been a bit out of the loop in terms of blogging for the past week or so. I went to a writer's conference and then had to catch up on everything that was on my desk..
Here's an interesting local story. Page Brown, formerly a lawyer at Brown and LaPointe out on Hampton Road (you know the one that now has a fancy new office building) in his retirement has written a book. He'll be at Water Street Bookstore Tuesday, April 15 at 7 p.m. to celebrate his book "The Unrequited." Brown's novel takes place as the Second World War has ended and the Japanese no longer control Vietnam, it carries the reader through those postwar years as the French attempt to reoccupy the country before the American involvement.
Here's a review from local freelance writer Dean Merchant:
Linger upon the characters in Page Brown's 'The Unrequited'. Slowly savor the dimension and depth of each ethnicity across a broad spectrum of human nature. The Unrequited is meant to be read slowly and then re-read. Brown is a thoughtful writer who provocatively and carefully chooses each adjective, crafting a landscape he knows well - Vietnam. His efforts akin to Hemingway sweating out his personal experiences in Spain onto the written page. Brown is a keen observer and a meticulous, voracious historian who writes to his own strengths. The author knows well the geopolitics and mind set of the "warrior", being a much decorated war hero himself. Still, he is able to follow his peripheral subjects with an intellectual and emotional understanding of a people and soil his soul has adopted. He shows sensitivity and perspective on native peoples confronted with brutal foreign interlopers. It's all here-the sights, sounds, smells and textures, the fabric of daily living in Southeast Asia at war with callous international designs. Destinies are played out-Hope is not lost. Those who enjoy a full meal read will find 'The Unrequited' satiates their intellectual hunger. All in all a damn good read!
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