Devious Vacuuming

The glass dome at the RiRa Irish Pub in Portsmouth, NH

We spent most of the day at the RiRa Irish Pub in Portsmouth, N.H.

It’s a nice pub set up in a the space once occupied two banks.  The bar was salvaged from a pub in Ireland.  The former bank vaults serve as a semi-private seating area.  As soon as you enter you notice the glass dome.  It too is a part of the building’s past, installed originally in 1904 when that part of the building was the Portsmouth Bank.  It depicts the seal of New Hampshire.

Here the heavy bank vault doors lead the way to a dining area

Comfortable dining in a former bank vault

We got there at about 10 in the morning so we had a choice between breakfast and lunch.  I went with fish and chips .  My husband chose the Irish breakfast special for St. Paddy’s day so that he could both try both the white and black pudding that came with it.

Black pudding is a type of sausage made by cooking blood with a filler until it’s thick enough to congeal when cooled.  I tried a piece, and even knowing what it is, it wasn’t bad.  I thought it was a bit salty.

The fish and chips were great but a little bit greasy for so early in the day but you only live once anyway.

Fish and chips

We had a lot of fun there.  The staff and crew really get into the holiday and the crowd was having a good time.

Bar at the RiRa Irish Pub

The bar with a halo of light from the dome

We were there in the afternoon for the band Oran Mor and also caught a bit of the Irish step dancing before we had to leave and head home.  More about the band and the dancing to come in another post.

As we left we also got to hear a bit of bagpipe music outside the restaurant.

I'm not sure what this is

We took a quick walk to Celtic Crossing to pick up a few gifts and also to Canine Cupboard to get a few treats for the dog.

All in all a good but tiring day.

Find out more about the RiRa Irish Pub in Portsmouth, N.H. here:

http://www.rira.com/index.php?id=34

Earth Hour 2010 is fast approaching.

On Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 p.m. local time you can participate by turning off your lights for one hour as a symbolic way to call for change in climate control.

It’s something that the whole family can easily participate in and may open up further discussions about community service and action.

You can go to the website below for more information:

www.myearthhour.org

McMenemy's Restaurant & Pub Saint Patrick's Day 2009

We had planned to spend St. Patrick’s Day this year at McMenemy’s Restaurant & Pub in Portsmouth, NH as we did last year.  It just wasn’t to be.

It’s seems that McMenemy’s closed their doors in October of 2009. It’s sad, it was a nice place with good food and great people.  We’re going to miss it.

The building that housed McMenemy's in Portsmouth, NH, Saint Patrick's Day 2010

Watermelon, Pumpkin and Green Beans

I saw these today while I was in a hardware store picking up gardening supplies. The pictures were taken with the iPhone.

Sesame Street seed starter kits

It seems like a cute way to get your children involved in gardening.  Who doesn’t like Sesame Street?  Of course you don’t need branded products to generate an interest in gardening.  Give your kids a few seeds, a little piece of earth that they can call their own and your time, and they will carry the memories of that time spent together forward with them.

Tomatoes, Sunflowers and Peppers

In a world where so many have come to expect instant-gratification, it’s nice to show your children that there are some things worth waiting for.  Gardening can be a great lesson in patience.

Wow, ABBA in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

I don’t know what to say.  They’ve made some odd choices for inductees in the past.  But ABBA, really?  I’m not bashing the band, they are fine for what they are or were.  But they were not a rock band and there are so many other bands who have been looked over who are rockers.  Sad.

When I first heard that they were opening a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland I wanted to go.  I don’t anymore.  It’s not about ABBA.  Now, it’s about my disgust with the small group of people who have the power to choose the nominees and vote them in.  They’ve helped me remember why Roger Daltrey singing, “I hope I die before I get old,” was cool.

The sun setting over Lake Mascuppic

The ice is finally melting on Lake Mascuppic.  All it took was a few days of warmer weather and we can start to believe that winter may in it’s final days.

Ducks enjoying the sunset

Some of this year's seed selections

I know that I’m probably jumping the gun a bit, but the weather has been getting nicer and the sun is setting a bit later in the day.  It’s time to start thinking about a summer garden.

This year we are not joining our local CSA farm but we still want the fresh, local produce.  We plan to grow more of our own vegetables and supplement that with produce from nearby farms and farmer’s markets.  I’m not sure that we’ll save any money, but we will grow more of the vegetables that we like.  Last season, some of our food from the CSA actually went to waste because we got tired eating it over and over again.

All in all, the CSA was a great experience, because we got to try a lot of vegetables that we wouldn’t have tried otherwise and also met a lot of great people.

We’ve decided to go with a raised bed garden using the Square Foot Gardening method.  Our local Sam’s Club had a raised bed garden kit for $39.88 so I picked up two of them along with some soil.

Our new garden

The soil shown in the picture is not nearly enough for the garden.  It will take at least 9 bags for each raised bed.

I’ve read about square food gardening online, but I’m looking for a copy of Mel Bartholomew’s book to make the planning a bit easier.

I’ll let you know how it all progresses.

A window at the Pepperell Paper Co

There were so many interesting windows at the site of the former Pepperell Paper Company that I thought I would just include most of them in a post of their own.  I hope that you enjoy the photos.

It's incredible that there are still some unbroken panes

Another window at the paper mill

I love the water stain on this one

Another boarded up window

More of the Pepperell Paper Co windows

A window at the paper mill's office

Fomer Pepperell Paper Co-Pepperell, MA

Former Pepperell Paper Co-Pepperell, MA

One of the buildings at the former Pepperell Paper Co

I think this paper mill has been closed since 2002

The former office for the Pepperell Paper Company

The Peppell Paper Co

We stopped by the former Pepperell Paper Company site last weekend on our way home from Parker’s Maple Barn.  I’ve always wanted to stop to take pictures there, but never had the chance. The water spilling over the dam was pretty high because of storms we had recently.   The day was cold and gray and a wet snow was falling so I took only as many pictures as my uncovered fingers could stand.

Swimming was really the last thing on my mind

The dam side of the bridge

I started off on the dam side of the bridge, but as quickly as I realized that the fine mist spacing over the railing smelled a bit like raw sewage, I decided to cross to the other side.

Pepperell Paper Co-Pepperell, MA

Another view of the Pepperell Paper Mill Co.

Fomer Pepperell Paper Co-Pepperell, MA

If walls could talk, what would this say?

Former Pepperell Paper Co-Pepperell, MA

The paper mill is abandoned now and shows the effect of what years of neglect can do. I think that it was shut down in 2002 some time after the Pepperell Paper Company was purchased by the Merrimack Paper Company. I’m not sure what the future holds for this stretch of land along the Nashua River.

Crumbling walls at the Pepperell Paper Company

One of the buildings of the Pepperell Paper Company

One of the few shots that I didn't convert to b&w

One of the buildings at the site of the Pepperell Paper Co

It’s an interesting place. I hate to see neglected buildings, but it makes for such great photos.  It must be hard for the people who used to work there to pass by and see what it has become.

There were so many photos that I took of the windows that I think they will get their own post.

The way to the Sugar Shack

Parker’s Maple Barn in Mason, NH is once again open for the season.  We went this past weekend for brunch.  The food was great.  I had eggs Irish, which is like eggs benedict, but with corned beef hash instead of ham. My husband had a turkey club sandwich.

Sap bucket on a sugar maple tree

The sap buckets were on the trees, but they were not boiling down the sap in the sugar shack yet.  That will probably start some time in March and they usually offer tours.

You can tap a tree multiple times

You can check their website for more information here:

http://www.parkersmaplebarn.com/