Year: 2024

The Weekly Dish 24/01/18

News from the local food scene

• See vineyard, taste wine: Experience the Fire Tower Winter Wonderland Wine Tasting Experience at Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road in Brookline; averillhousevineyard.com) at various times on Fridays through Sunday in January through March. With a view of the vineyard, enjoy a private outdoor tasting of four wines around outdoor pellet stoves. Each ticket ($59) accounts for two adults and each additional person will cost $15 for a maximum of eight people. Children under 13 are free and pets are welcome if on a leash. Get your tickets at eventbrite.com.

• Wine in an igloo: Enjoy a charcuterie board with meat, nuts, cheese and crackers and taste four wines in a private Norwegian-themed igloo or gazebo Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road in Brookline; averillhousevineyard.com) with theme lighting and music. Gazebos also include a fireplace and fluffy living room. Dates are available in January through March, on Fridays through Sundays as well as Wednesday, Feb. 14. Tickets ($100) account for two people and can be purchased via eventbrite.

• Drinks for a cause: On Saturday, Jan. 20, To Share Brewing Co., New Hampshire Brewers Association and Old Dogs Go To Helen host Pints and Flights for Old Dogs Go To Helen. One dollar from every pint or flight sold will be donated to ODGTH, a senior and hospice dog rescue and sanctuary.

• Cupcake decorating for kids: Uno Pizzeria & Grill (15 Fort Eddy Road, Concord) hosts a kids’ winter cupcake decorating class on Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 4 to 9 p.m. Call to make your reservation.

• Wines of Italy: Wine expert Anne Arnold will lead you through The Wonderful Wines of Italy hosted by From the Vine to Wine at Stroll Café & Wine Bar (15 Portwalk Place, Portsmouth) on Thursday, Feb. 1, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $50 to $65 on eventbrite.

• Chocolate, wine, dinner: The 17th annual Chocolate Madness Wine Pairing Dinner at Zorvino Vineyards (226 Main St., Sandown) on Thursday, Feb. 1 starting at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail hour and dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $85 and can be purchased via eventbrite.

• Farm-to-table tasting: Restoration Acres Farm hosts a farm-to-table tasting on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at Black Swan Inn (354 W. Main St., Tilton) featuring food from local farmers and artisans, wine and mead sampling from Hermit Woods winery and live music by Audrey Drake. Tickets are $85 and can be purchased via eventbrite.

On The Job – Andrew Williamson and Larry Williamson

Roofing and gutter specialists

Andrew Williamson and Larry Williamson own North East Roof Tune-Ups, a roof and gutter maintenance company out of Manchester.

Explain your job and what it entails.

We specialize in roof repair and maintenance and all aspects of gutters. We both clean and install custom gutters, downspouts and gutter covers designed for our New England weather.

How long have you had this job?

We initiated North East Roof Tune-Ups in February 2020, previously operating as New England Gutter Systems from March 2016 to 2020.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

Our journey began under our father’s business, Premier Gutter Systems, from 2009 to 2014. …We started out cleaning gutters. We added the gutter machine and started doing gutter installations shortly after. Later we added the roof tune-up package. In the last two years we added services for property managers and Realtors. We also offer 7-inch gutters for commercial buildings.

What kind of education or training did you need?

We mainly learned on the job from our father teaching us side by side. We are constantly learning new things from trade groups and forums.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Our uniform features the company’s logo, trade and contact information, and proper footwear.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Constantly improving our craft and knowledge to serve our local community effectively. Handling fall rushes by conducting our time wisely and striving for quality and professional service. I would say ‘the cold’ but, hey, this is New England.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

It’s not easy but we love it. Our work is essential in preventing potential damage to your home.

What was the first job you ever had?

Andrew worked for Premier Gutter Systems, and Larry was a grill cook at Wendy’s.

What’s the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

You have to enjoy what you do for work.

Five favorites
Favorite book: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This book is a great blueprint of how to live your life.
Favorite movie: We don’t have much time for movies. I guess movies with the kiddos on the weekend.
Favorite music: We like all kinds of music. We really enjoy checking out local bands.
Favorite food: We are on the road a lot. We have favorite small diners in every town. Then, of course, pizza.
Favorite thing about NH: Its scenic wonders. An hour or so one way gets you to our gorgeous lakes and mountains while the other direction gets you to gorgeous beaches on the ocean.

Featured photo: Andrew Williamson and Larry Williamson. Courtesy photo.

Treasure Hunt 24/01/18

Dear Donna,

Can you help figure out what this register is from? It says W.C.F.I. on the side. Inside it’s all empty pages, lined. It’s 17” x 12” and extremely heavy. Any information would be appreciated.

Alex

Dear Alex,

Your heavy register book is from the early 1900’s. WCFI stands for the Williamsburg City Fire Insurance Co. in New York City.

Antique leather-bound registers aren’t hard to find, as so many were used. To find them empty and with paper still intact is harder. Yours, Alex, is a larger one but many are light and thin as well. So many of them out there. Interesting to read some of the contents. Also great coffee table books! The value on one the size of yours would be in the $100 range in good condition. Fun piece, Alex, and thanks for sharing it with us.

Kiddie Pool 24/01/18

Family fun for whenever

Movie afternoon

• See Happy Feet (PG, 2006) on Friday, Jan. 19, at 3:45 p.m. at all three area Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com). Purchase $5 food vouchers to reserve a seat.

Game night

• Cheer on the Saint Anselm Hawks basketball teams on Saturday, Jan. 20, at Stoutenburgh Gymnasium (73 College Road on Saint Anselm College campus in Manchester). The women’s team takes the court at 1:30 p.m. and the men’s team plays at 3:30 p.m. — both teams face off against teams from American International College. Tickets to either game cost $10 (kids 5 and under get in free to regular season games) and are available for purchase starting one hour ahead of game time at the Gymnasium ticket booth. See saintanselmhawks.com.

• Southern New Hampshire University Penmen basketball teams will face the Saint Anselm Hawks in games Wednesday, Jan. 24, when the women’s team plays at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s team at 7:30 p.m. The games take place at Stan Spiro Field House (Southern New Hampshire University campus, 2500 River Road in Manchester); regular season games are free to attend. See snhupenmen.com.

Art class

• The winter session of classes starts this week at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) with adult classes (in person and online) and classes for teens and kids. A series of “art after school” classes was slated to begin Wednesday, Jan. 17, and run for five weeks. On Saturday, Jan. 20, art classes for ages 5 through teen begin, including Art Explorers at 10 a.m. (ages 5 to 7); Pencil, Pen & Marker at 10 a.m. (ages 8 to 10); Drawing Adventures at noon (ages 10 to 12); Character Design for Storytelling at noon (teens), and Narrative Collage & Printmaking (teens) at noon, according to a press release. Go online for price and availability. On Thursday, Jan. 18, at 10:30 a.m. a “Homeschool Art Studio” session begins.

A year in the garden

As we begin 2024 I think it is good not only to look back but also to plan ahead. We can’t know if we’ll be facing hot and dry or wet and soggy this summer, or perfect conditions. But we can make plans and hope for the best.

For many of us 2023 was a disappointment. The summer was rainy much of the time. Vegetables like tomatoes and potatoes — vegetables that require lots of energy to build fruit or tubers — did not do well. Fungal diseases like late blight are most virulent with moist conditions, which we had in spades. And in my part of the world there was a late frost that spoiled the blossoms on our fruit trees — so no apples or pears. Sigh.

On the other hand, it was a great summer for newly planted trees and shrubs. I planted yet another pawpaw tree this summer, along with a fringe tree, an American hazelnut and a gooseberry. The soil stayed moist all summer from the rain, and all have done well.

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a native fruit tree that is common in the woods of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The fruit is almost tropical in flavor, sometimes compared to a mix of mango and banana flavors. The trees are rated hardy to Zone 5 (minus 20 degrees F), but I have had one survive much colder temperatures — and another that died in a cold winter.

I have one pawpaw tree that is now 20 feet tall and 10 years old or more, but I am yet to get any fruit from it, despite the fact that it has blossomed. Apparently they are self-sterile, so in the past three years I have been planting new trees from different sources. Pawpaws send up root suckers, but these are genetic clones and not suitable for pollinating the mother tree.

A few thoughts about planting trees: First, preferentially choose trees and shrubs that are native to New England — or the United States. These are best for our birds and pollinators. And no, that doesn’t mean you should deprive yourself of the beauty of a Merrill or Jane magnolia. I just want to suggest a 90:10 or 80:20 ratio of natives to imported or hybridized varieties.

Secondly, if you plant trees in spring or summer, you must water during dry times. Fall is usually wet enough. A newly planted tree needs 5 gallons of water once a week distributed in a wide circle around it. A 2-inch layer of mulch will help minimize drying on hot August days and keep the mowers and string trimmers at bay. Mulch will also minimize weeds that compete for nutrients and water.

Some gardeners focus on growing vegetables, others on flowers. I want both. I started as a vegetable gardener, largely because there is little better in life than biting into a home-grown tomato warm from the sun. I grow heirloom tomatoes like Brandywine, Cherokee Purple and Ox Heart, but I also plant hybrids like Sungold, my favorite cherry tomato, and Defiant, which is resistant to some diseases.

If you grow open pollinated (heirloom) tomatoes, you can save a few seeds each year and dry them on a paper towel. Store them in a cool dark location and they will serve you well if you want to start your own seedlings, starting indoors in early April. But don’t save hybrid seeds,. as most will not breed true.

One of my readers wrote me this fall reminding me of something I wrote long ago: “I will make it through another winter because I want to see what else did.” It’s true. I can’t let age catch up with me because I want to see the annual show: snowdrops blooming in March; my Merrill magnolia, which blooms each year with 1,000 double white blossoms on my birthday in April; and the Japanese primroses — 500 to 1,000 of them beginning in May and lasting until mid-June.

My advice about planting flowers is simple: Grow what you love. Grow what your Grammie and mother grew. Grow what stops you in your tracks when you see if for the first time each season. Plant more of your favorites each year, or divide them and spread them out to new corners of the property. But keep it simple: Don’t plant so much that weeding becomes a dreaded chore.

I love arranging flowers and keep a vase of my own cut flowers on the table from March until after Halloween. You can do this if you plant lots of bulbs for early spring, your favorite perennials, and very importantly, this: plant annual flowers. Annual flowers keep on blooming all summer if you keep them from going to seed.

It’s easy to buy six-packs of annuals in spring and plant them in your perennial beds as well as in your vegetable garden. Most like full sun or part sun/part shade. And don’t fertilize annuals in the garden — too much nitrogen promotes leafy growth but delays flowering. Potted annuals do need some fertilizer as the fertilizer in potting mix is water-soluble and gets used up or washes away.

Remember, as you ponder your plans for a garden while looking at a snowy landscape, that gardening should be fun. My garden is my respite. It’s where I go when the world is too much with me. So do some planning now. And dream.

Henry’s column will appear about once a month this winter. Reach him at [email protected] or PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746.

Featured photo: Gomphrena, an annual, is great in arrangements. Photo by Henry Homeyer.

The Art Roundup 23/01/18

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

• OG Oscar winner: Here in the thick of the Oscar season for 2023 movies, check out one of the winners of the first Oscars. Emil Jannings, the first winner of a Best Actor Oscar, stars in the movie that got him the statue, The Last Command (1928), which will screen on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m. at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre (40 Main St. in Wilton), according to a press release. This silent film will screen with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis. Admission is free with a suggested $10 donation.

• Exhibit layover: The “Flying Home for the Holidays” exhibit at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; aviationmuseumofnh.org, 669-4820) will extend its run through Sunday, Feb. 4. The exhibit features World War II-era uniforms and large-format posters, according to a press release. The museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 4 p.m. Admission costs $10 for ages 13+ and $5 for ages 6 to 12 and is free for kids 5 and under, 65+ and veterans and military.

The museum will also host Ken Perkins, a New Hampshire pilot who helped bring Charles Lindbergh to Hawaii in 1974 before his death, for a program called “Lindbergh’s Last Flight” on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m.

• Closing the book: Portsmouth Book & Bar (40 Pleasant St. in Portsmouth), a venue for food, drink, music, art and poetry as well as a book shop, has announced that it is closing its doors on Sunday, Jan. 28. See bookandbar.com for a schedule of events up until that final day, including Beat Night on Thursday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m.; a musical performance by Tourist Attraction on Friday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m.; Taylor Marie Band with Andrew Kavanaugh on Saturday, Jan. 20, at 8 p.m.; The Lion Sisters with Jim Prendergast on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.; singer-songwriter open mic night on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m., and Standup Night hosted by Jake Valeri on Friday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. A “Hello, Good-Bye: Send-off and Celebration Weekend” is planned for Saturday, Jan. 27, and Sunday, Jan. 28. Some events are ticketed; see the website.

Art & Bloom
The Concord Garden Club and local artists present “Art & Bloom,” the annual show featuring floral arrangements paired with works by local artists, on display Thursday, Jan. 25, through Saturday, Jan. 27, at Kimball Jenkins Estate (266 N. Main St. in Concord). The show comes together with club members, local florists and others picking a piece from a Kimball Jenkins exhibit and then crafting arrangements inspired by that piece, according to concordgardenclubnh.com/art-and-bloom, where you can see a gallery of past arrangements with the works that inspired them. The show will be on display Thursday, Jan. 25, from 2 to 5 p.m., with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, Jan. 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Call for art: The Meredith Sculpture Walk is accepting applications to take part in the lakefront Meredith Sculpture Walk exhibit, a juried event with installation slated for mid-May through mid-June, according to a press release. The application period is open through March 31, with notifications to go out by April 30. Applications are open to new and returning artists with new pieces for up to two sculptures per applicant, the release said. See greatermeredith.org.

• Support for teen artists: Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St., Suite 201, in Manchester; mosaicartcollective.com, 512-6309) has started an open studio for students from Manchester’s public high schools, according to a press release. The students have studio time, work on creative exercises and work together with mentor artists and will have an exhibition to spotlight their work at the end of the semester, the release said. Spaces are still available; contact [email protected].

• Commedia dell’arte: The Players’ Ring Theatre (105 Marcy St. in Portsmouth; playersring.org) will present an original commedia dell’arte, I See No Arlecchino, running Friday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 11. Showtimes will be Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 and 7:20 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. According to a press release: “Jessica Miller, a cast member …, described commedia as a ‘highly physical slapstick comedy with a cast of stock characters … lovers, the old miser, etc.’” “I like to think of it as a live-action cartoon with a very thin, if at all existent, fourth wall,” Miller said according to the release. “It’s pure, raucous comedy.” Admission costs $28, $25 for students and 65+.

• New show: Works by painter Sharyn Paul will be on display in the exhibit “We Are Water” through February at The Art Center (1 Washington St. in Dover; theartcenteronlinegallery.com). For a look at Paul’s work, see sharynpaul.com. She will attend the Meet the Artist event on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Recycled returns: If you missed Recycled Percussion during their Palace Theatre run over the holidays, you can catch up with them in early February at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St. in Nashua; nashuacenterforthearts.com). The band will bring their blend of music, comedy and percussive theatricality to Nashua on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 3 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 4, at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets cost $39.50 through $49.50.

• Like Maestro but live: The New Hampshire Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony (as seen in the movie Maestro) with the Plymouth State University and Keene State College Choral groups at performances in February — on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. at the Plymouth State University Silver Center and two at the Seifert Performing Arts Center in Salem. The Salem performances will be Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. (with a livestreaming ticket option for the Sunday concert). For tickets (which cost $35 for adults, $30 for seniors and $10 for students to the Salem shows) see nhphil.org.

• 40 years of fun: The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; childrens-museum.org) continues its “40 Years of Play” exhibit through Thursday, Feb. 29, in Gallery 6. The exhibition includes artwork, puppets and other items that look back at the museum’s 40 years, including photographs, according to a press release. The museum and gallery are open Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to noon; Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9 am. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to noon. You don’t have to pay admission to visit the gallery; to visit the museum as well, reserve a play slot online. Admission costs $12.50 for everyone over 12 months, $10.50 for 65+.

• Art, music, winter: Winterfest Lowell will take place Friday, Feb. 16, and Saturday, Feb. 17, in downtown Lowell, Mass., and feature ice carvings, fire sculptures, live music, magic, family activities, an art tent and a local vendors marketplace as well as food trucks, a chocolate festival on Saturday and a soup bowl competition (also Saturday). See lowellwinterfest.com.

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