Adventures in NH

When riding a motorcycle 600 miles, one must be prepared for inclement weather.  We started out in our rain suits because everything was wet.  Good thing we did as we hit rain less than seven miles from our house.001-NH-Trip-Canal-Place

It rained off and on most of the morning.  I kept checking my phone weather app to see if we could remove those hot suits. Mr. Aitch took off his rain jacket when we stopped for fuel when this popped up.  We are the blue dot.002-Sheetz

We hung out there for about an hour while waiting for the rain to lighten up and spent the night near Albany, New York.

From  Albany, New York to my brother’s house in New Hampshire was a better ride and beautiful weather.

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My brother, sister and I went to the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair and I met Carrie Cahill Mulligan of cmhats fame.005-NH-Trip-CCM-Hats

I’ve never met a knitter that wasn’t nice.  She is so warm and friendly and her hats are incredibly beautiful!  My favorite one is the grey and tan hat hanging just above my head in the photo.  Her hand embroidery is divine.

There were so many things to see that I forgot to take photos.   I did fish out my phone for a photo when I saw this quilt by Jane Frenke.  I love the bright colors and irregular edges. After doing some research I discovered her studio is about and hour and half away from me  Small world.006-NH-Trip-Jane-Frenke

We also worked on a very challenging jigsaw puzzle that my sister-in-law gave to my brother a few years ago and was never completed.  More about that on another day.

Three days of warm, sunny weather and then it started to rain.  On the day we left.

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This time we spent the night in Scranton, PA. Our boots were damp and Mr. Aitch’s glove were wet so we propped them over the fan in our room while we went for dinner.

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Rain showers were in the area when we got up on the last day of our trip so we decided to take our time at breakfast.  We donned our rain suits before we left the hotel though the radar was relatively clear.  Pop-up showers were in the forecast but after mostly sunny skies and the heat of the day, we decided to get out of those hot rain suits.

Thirty minutes later…

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Again – we are the blue dot.

013-NH-Trip-TyroneWe managed to get off the highway just as the skies opened up.  You can see by Mr. Aitch’s shirt that we did get a little wet.  We decided to have lunch hoping the rain would once again subside.  It didn’t.  After an hour wait we braved the rain and headed home.

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To mostly sunny skies.

Wine and chocolate

Last month my sister invited me to the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County (Ohio) Annual Wine and Chocolate Event.  This event raises money to help run the animal center and promotes animal adoptions.  Over 300 people were in attendance and I’m sure everyone had a great time!

A wide variety of gift baskets (at least 50) were donated for a silent auction.

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Concert-tickets

50/50 drawing (No, we didn’t win.) and raffles for a gift cards and another table full of wines, chocolates, glassware, and fun goodies.

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Wine

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Food,

Dinner-plate

food,

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and more food…

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Chocolate,

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Choco4

Choco3

chocolate,

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and more chocolate.

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Yum!!

And the best part was spending the weekend with my sister!

Sisters

Weekend fun

Mr. Aitch and I went to visit some of our relatives this weekend.  We stayed with his brother and sister-in-law and partied with them Friday evening.

Left to right: Me, B-I-L, S-I-L, and Mr. Aitch.

Henry's

We started off with some fantastic potato skins that had cheese and bacon under Ranch dressing.  They were so good!  I didn’t get pictures of the stuffed portabella mushrooms and Nachos because, well, we were in the Cock-Eyed Bar (in B-I-L’s basement) and enjoying the adult beverages.  In other words, I forgot.

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Saturday I met up with two of my cousins, two aunts, and my sister.  We attended a luncheon honoring Grove City College Scholarship donors and recipients.

Clockwise from the bottom:  My” iPad cover” Aunt (seated), Holly from Denver, Joan from Houston, my sister, Aunt from Denver, and me.

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The scholarship recipient was a wonderful young man who has a good head on his shoulders and seems very grounded.

Holly

The last time I saw my Houston cousin was when our daughter got married in 2007. I went on a business trip in 2008 and saw my Denver aunt and cousin.  Our families want to close that gap and visit more often!

How do you handle long-distance family reunions?

The lunch bag fold

Our daughter-in-law and grandchildren were at our house this past weekend. 

Our almost-seven-year-old grandson didn’t want his sandwich at lunch so I packed it for him to take home.

He was in awe as I handed the lunch bag to him.  He said, “You folded the bag just like they do at McDonald’s.”

His eyes got really big.  Then he asked, “Nona, did you used to work at McDonald’s?”