Some bubbles

Beverage makers go for a not too carbonated drink that’s like a ‘non-alcoholic digestif’

Joe Hyatt and his partners have worked hard producing their new canned beverage, and according to Hyatt one of its subtler selling points is that it’s not explosive.

Hyatt said that although Elders Sparkling Probiotic Drink is carbonated, it’s not too carbonated. “It’s very lightly carbonated,” he said. “If you tip the can over, or shake it a little bit, it’s not going to explode on you. The carbonation is actually teed in perfectly.”

Elders is an apple cider vinegar-based beverage developed by Hyatt and his partners Richard Jacob, Jewel Chérubin and Rayna Farquharson, all Nashua residents. It combines apple cider vinegar, cane sugar, lemon and ginger.

“Our goal,” Hyatt said, “has been to bring drinks to the market that actually taste good and are good for you and are clean. We want it to be as little processed as possible. So if you look at the ingredients, we only use juice that is not from concentrate. That’s what we’re going to strive to do. You know, it’s hard because it’s not easy to find that. We’re also certified organic to try to make sure that we can give people the best product that they can get.”

Jewel Chérubin said she was very deliberate when she designed Elders’ label to include illustrations of an apple, a lemon, some ginger and a sugarcane. “Basically,” she said, “what you see is what you sip.”

“We wanted to make sure that when someone saw the drink,” Hyatt said, “they could see it, and hopefully some subconscious part of them will go, ‘Oh! I know those ingredients.’ There’s no ‘natural flavors,’ like a lot of popular drinks have, because that’s not real. That’s processed, and that’s not what we want to do.”

“There’s no high-fructose corn syrup,” Rich Jabob added, “only organic cane sugar, but only four grams of it. There’s no concentrate, just pure juice. There’s no preservatives, and our goal is to use the best ingredients possible.”

Hyatt said much of the inspiration for Elders came from health concerns of members of his family.

“For millennia,” he said, “apple cider vinegar has been holistically used for people’s general well-being. There really wasn’t anything on the market that was a true apple cider vinegar drink. There are a few that try to act like it but …. Anyway, I looked at our team and I said, ‘Guys, we can make this and we can make it better.’ And then a few months later we’re canned and hitting the market.”

In an ideal world, Jacob said, all the ingredients would be locally sourced.

“But it’s tough to find lemons that grow in New Hampshire,” he said. New Hampshire can’t successfully grow cane sugar; that’s asking a lot.” Given global climate change, though, he added, you never know. “And then when that happens, we’ll find a local source.”

But, Hyatt added, it’s important to the team that the product is made locally.

“That’s where the label comes in,” he said. It says ‘Made in New England’ and that’s us making sure we support local businesses. We bring everything we can right here. We’re not getting it produced in Illinois and then shipped here, which could even be cheaper. We want to make sure that we’re supporting the communities we’re in.”

“This is like a non-alcoholic digestif,” Jacob explained. “In other parts of the world, digestifs are a big thing. At the end of a meal, Italians have limoncello; the French have génépi, and all that stuff.”

“And that’s really funny,” Hyatt added, “because my Middle Eastern family, they look at this and when they eat this or drink this they go, ‘This is a digestif.’”

Which brings the conversation back to carbonation.

“I have little cousins who love this,” Hyatt said, “and sometimes people, especially kids, don’t love overly bubbly stuff. This is already kind of a niche product. We wanted to ensure that we’re not doubling down by making it overly bubbly. If someone says, ‘Oh, I don’t like bubbly drinks,’ we can say, ‘Well, here you go.’ It’s a perfect balance.”

Elders Sparkling Probiotic Drink
Elders Sparkling Probiotic Drink is available in select locations across New England and in all walk-in locations of Pressed Café.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Driveway cookie cart a sweet idea

A little treat to go

Amy Casella might have the world’s shortest commute. She runs her bakery, Crumbs on Cambridge in Bedford, from the end of her driveway.

“I am licensed and inspected by the town,” Casella said, “but it is not a brick and mortar [business]. Most of the time I have a little bakery cart out at the end of the driveway, and that’s what I sell out of typically. I’ve started doing some farmers markets lately, and events, just to broaden my reach and get my name out there and say hello.” But usually, she said, it’s a driveway-based business.

Casella said the focus for Crumbs on Cambridge is using as many all-natural ingredients as possible while still making indulgent treats.

“Typically,” she said, “overall, everything is non-GMO and mostly organic. It’s less sweet, and dye-free. There’s a nice balance of flavors. I [make] cookies and muffins and marshmallows and cakes — you know, all kinds of treats that everybody loves. I like to make things that are just a little bit different in some way. For instance, I’ll decorate with fresh flowers because I can’t use fresh fruit per the health department.”

Casella said she tries to be thoughtful about selling her customers treats that aren’t exuberantly flavored or colored.

“That’s generally what I strive to feed my family,” she said. “Most people are just not educated on food enough, and that’s through no fault of their own. I think we just don’t talk about food enough, especially the dyes. Over in Europe they banned this stuff some 30-odd years ago.”

With that being said, Casella said she wants her treats to be as decadent and craveable as possible.

“For instance,” she said, “the cart’s going to open today, so right now I have a gluten-free brownie. I’ve been trying to make things gluten-free and dairy-free — not all the time, but there are so many people who miss out on most baked goods. But I still want to make everything enjoyable for those that aren’t gluten-free. So I do an almond-flour brownie. Now I’ll never make brownies any other way. They’re super fudgy, and delicious, just lovely. Next is a salted chocolate chunk [cookie]. Again, it’s an almond flour cookie, and also gluten-free. There’s a pistachio latte sandwich cookie today, which is a pistachio shortbread, homemade espresso buttercream, and then a homemade pistachio cream right in the center. We have the oatmeal cream pies with maple buttercream. There’s a banana, white chocolate chip cookie, a pumpkin snickerdoodle.”

She paused a moment to think. “What else do I have today … ? Oh! A pumpkin muffin! It’s amazingly fluffy. I’ve made a lot of muffins, but this is my best muffin, hands down. Oh, and a strawberry cream cheese quick bread.”

Casella said her customers will never know precisely what she will have on hand on a given day. “I like to switch it up a little bit. I get bored really easily, so I make more work for myself by creating new recipes all the time and trying new things all the time. There’s definitely some favorites I think that people have, like the oatmeal cream pies with the maple buttercream. There’s a chocolate raspberry sandwich cookie, which has a nice brownie cookie with a chocolate ganache and a raspberry puree in the middle.”

Crumbs on Cambridge has represented a new chapter in her life, Casella said. “I’m proud of just being unique,” she said, “and making people happy. Honestly, coming from corporate America, this was a switch-up to just kind of change things and make my life a little bit easier and happier. It just makes people happy in the community. Nobody’s ever upset when they’re buying a cookie.”

Crumbs on Cambridge
Where: at the Bedford and Nashua farmers markets, and in Casella’s driveway at 76 Cambridge Road in Bedford on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. until dusk.
More: Visit the Crumbs on Cambridge pages on Facebook or Instagram for a menu of what is available on a given day.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 25/10/03

News from the local food scene

Fall Fest: 603 Brewery in Londonderry will hold a Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 4, noon to 8 p.m. featuring food trucks, live music and a DJ, local artisans, a stein-holding contest, kitchen specials and more, according to 603brewery.com.

Apple season: Did last week’s cover story (page 10 in the Sept. 25 issue) about caramel apples have you craving an appley treat? Check out the Dover’s Apple Harvest Day 2025 festival on Saturday, Oct. 4, on Central Street in Dover from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will feature a 5K road race and more than 100 vendors. Visit appleharvestday.com.

Wine and chicken: LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com/labelle-winery-derry) will host an interactive cooking demonstration and wine tasting Thursday, Oct. 2, from 6 to 7 p.m. called “Cooking with Wine: Make the Most of Rotisserie Chicken.” LaBelle’s chefs will demonstrate recipes that make the most of a rotisserie chicken and pair each with a LaBelle wine. Tickets are $40.

Mac for a cause: Mr. Mac’s Macaroni and Cheese, 497 Hooksett Road in Manchester, is donating $2 for every “Take & Bake” order to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Manchester and the Manchester Police Athletic League during October, according to a press release. The Mac Give Back fundraiser will run through the month and orders can be made at the Manchester location, by calling 606-1760 or at mr-macs.com, the release said.

Wine and steins: Bert’s Beer & Wine (545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 413-5992, bertsnh.com) will host “An Oktoberfest of Wine!” Monday, Oct. 6, beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be a guided tasting led by a wine expert, a discussion of winemaking techniques and regional influences, and light food pairings designed to complement each wine. Tickets are $75 through eventbrite.com and include the purchase of a bottle of one of the three bottles tasted.

Chili and beer: The annual Powder Keg Beer & Chili Festival will take place in Swasey Parkway in downtown Exeter on Saturday, Oct. 4, with general admission at 1 p.m., noon for VIP ticket holders, according to powderkegbeerfest.com.

Music and beer: Henniker Brewing Co. in Henniker will hold its Oktoberfest Friday, Oct. 3, through Monday, Oct. 6, with Oktoberfest competitions, food vendors, the taping of the Oktoberfest Marzen Cask (Saturday at 1 p.m), live music each day and more, according to hennikerbrewing.com, where you can find the schedule of the weekend’s event. Find more Oktoberfests in last week’s food section; the story is on page 25 and you can find the issue in the digital library at hippopress.com.

Celebrating a sequel

The NH Book Festival returns for its second year

This Saturday marks the second annual New Hampshire Book Festival in downtown Concord. According to Festival co-founder and President Emilie Burack, the goal of the Festival is to connect authors with readers and to foster conversation about books and the people who love them.

“We have over 60 authors and poets this year,” she said. “We have an author from Switzerland, one from England, and one from Canada, but mostly from the U.S. That includes some New Hampshire authors. And every one that comes to the festival has a brand new book that has come out in 2025.”

There will be a keynote address on Friday evening by mystery writer Walter Mosley, author of the Easy Rawlins series, and panel discussions of adult and children’s literature will take place throughout the day on Saturday, preceded by a children-of-all-ages costume parade down Main Street.

“People are coming dressed as their favorite book character,” Burack said. “We just think that that’s going to be great. Adults dress up a lot for comic cons and things like that now, so we’re hoping that this will be just a really interesting selection of folks celebrating their favorite book characters.”

The panel discussions throughout the day will include a “Thrills and Chills” session for authors and fans of horror, suspense and mystery; poetry readings with poets including New Hampshire’s Poet Laureate Jennifer Militello; and an examination of themes in young adult fiction. Burack is particularly excited about a spotlight conversation with New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss, the author of You Can Never Die, a graphic memoir centered around the loss of his very special dog.

On the children’s book side of things, “We have two authors that applied to the book festival that are both Caldecott winners,” Burack said. “This is a medal you can get for books that are illustrated for children. We have Jason Chin [author of the 2022 Caldecott winning Watercress] and Aaron Becker author-illustrator of 2014’s Caldecott winning Journey both coming. They haven’t met each other before and we’re going to have a special spotlight of those two of them in conversation.”

Each panel discussion will be followed by book signings by the authors at the book sales tent on Main Street, where all the featured authors’ books will be available for purchase. Books will also be for sale at Gibson’s Bookstore at 45 S. Main St.

New Hampshire Book Festival
Where: South Main Street in Concord.
When: Friday, Oct. 3, and Saturday, Oct. 4. On Friday, ticketed events will feature a children’s keynote with Tui Sutherland, author of the Wings of Fire series, and an inaugural keynote with author Walter Mosley in conversation with author Hank Phillipi Ryan. Saturday will feature a free all-day festival with book signings, panel discussions, poetry readings and more. Some of the panel discussions will require tickets, which will help defray the cost of the sessions that are free to attend.
More:
Visit nhbookfestival.org.

29 Reasons to Love Your Library

Get more than books with your library card!

If you imagine a library as a building full of books, you’re not wrong. But 21st-century libraries have evolved with the changing needs of their communities.

“We serve as a community center for Auburn,” said Dan Szczesny, the Director of the Griffin Free Public Library. “For seniors, families, kids and whatever, we are ground zero for coming to talk about the town or seeing people that you haven’t seen, or that sort of thing.”

Caroline Pynes, the Director of the Chichester Town Library, explained the role a modern library plays for children and teens.

“I think a lot of kids don’t really understand what a resource the library is,” Pynes said. “I think it’s only [when] they grow up and get older that they realize what an asset it is for each community to have a public library and that we offer more than just books. We offer museum passes. You can ask us different questions, and we’ll try to find the answer for you. In some ways, we’re almost better than the internet.”

Here are some more reasons to love your library.

1. There are even more books to borrow than you see on the shelves. Tanya Ricker, the Director of the Whipple Free Library in New Boston, said that while it might take longer to get a book from another library, you will still get most books you request. “The current state of interlibrary loans,” she said, “is that we are still getting them. There is funding for it. However, unfortunately, they are very short-staffed at the State Library, and because there is a hiring freeze, we are not getting as many van deliveries as we have in the past. But other than that, it’s still business as usual right now, which is fortunate.”

You might be able to browse another library on your own.

Erin Matlin is the Director of the Leach Public Library in Londonderry. She said that, like many local libraries across the state, hers belongs to an association that allows patrons to check out books from other libraries.

“We are part of the GMILCS Consortium,” Matlin said. “That [gives] us access to a number of other libraries in the area. We share their catalog, so if we wanted to request a book from Derry, for example, one of our patrons could do that. They could either pick it up in Derry or have it sent here. When we joined, we were told by the consortium that it increased our patrons’ access to a collection by 1.4 million items.”

GMILCS includes libraries in Amherst, Bedford, Derry, Goffstown, Hooksett, Hudson, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Salem, Windham and New England College.

What are you reading?
I am personally reading a book by Neil Shusterman called All Better Now. It’s a young adult book and it takes place in post-Covid world. There’s a new virus that has been getting people sick and it’s a very interesting book as this virus has interesting consequences. Neil Shusterman is a pretty big author in the young adult publishing world, so it’s a fun book. —Dori Eisenstat, Teen Librarian, Manchester City Library

2. You can browse from a bike. There are two E-Bike Bookmobiles in Concord.

“When the weather is on our side, we go to local parks and people can check out books, return books, sign up for a library card,” said Jennifer Needham, Archivist, Reference, and Outreach Coordinator for Concord Public Library. “It’s a great way to promote the library.”

3. The books can come to you. Many area libraries will deliver books by mail or in person.

“We deliver books and other materials to clients who are homebound, “ said Dianne Hathaway, Director of the Goffstown Public Library. “For example, I deliver to a client who makes her own requests. She places her own requests online and I just really swap things with her. I never see her. But then we have another client who’s been with us for many years and the staff member who delivers to her sits and chats with her. Sometimes it’s about more than just books; it’s socialization as well.“

4. You can download digital books. Virtually all libraries provide access to digital content. Libby/Overdrive and Cloud Library allow library patrons to download e-books and audiobooks online as does Hoopla, which also offers e-books and comics. Search through a library’s catalog in person or online, and if a specific library doesn’t have a particular title the catalog will note if it is available for download from the State Library.

5. There are many ways to listen to stories. If a library patron wants to listen to a particular audiobook, many libraries lend out Playaways, small digital devices preloaded with a specific book including kids’ books.

“Playaways are good for people who don’t have a smartphone or might not have access to high-speed internet,” said Jennifer McCormack, Director of the Nashua Public Library, “Or they just want a simple plug-and-play. You just stick your headphones in, press the play button, and now you’re listening to an audiobook.”

What are you reading?
Currently I’m reading Perestroika in Paris. It’s a book told from the point of view of a horse. It’s a little different. It’s by Jane Smiley, who wrote A Map of the World. I’m enjoying that right now. —Sarah Leonardi, Assistant Director, Amherst Town Library

6. The library can be your emergency office. Most area public libraries offer photocopiers, computers and internet access, including wi-fi. Sarah Leonardi is the assistant director of the Amherst Town Library. She said this includes technology you might not expect.

“We do still have a fax machine,” she said, “because people still are using that. There are still some industries, [such as ] legal or medical, that require a fax, so we certainly offer that as a service.” People can use the library’s printer, she said, even from their own devices. “They can also print from mobile devices like their phone or their laptop, using another third-party service that we coordinate with called Princh. [They] can also send a print job from home and come to pick it up here.”

Many patrons depend on their library for a wi-fi connection, Juliana Gallo said. She is the Youth Services Librarian at the Baker Free Library in Bow. “We actually just updated our Internet and wi-fi just a couple of weeks ago so the signal is strong now throughout the building and even reaches into our parking lot, so we sometimes have people using it before we’re open or after we’re closed.”

7. You can experiment with a 3D printer. Some area libraries also have 3D printers that allow patrons to create plastic reproductions of physical objects. “We have a 3D printer in the children’s department,” said Jennifer Needham from the Concord Public Library. “If you go to our website, there’s actually a link that families can go to with a list of predetermined objects that can be printed, and they choose one. And then it’s free with a library card. Then the next time that family is in we hand over their 3D object.” Some libraries may have 3D printing fees, such as the 20-cents-per-gram cost at the Bedford Library.

8. Librarians will help you figure out technology. Local libraries are a good resource for people confused by technology. Natalie Lapointe is the Technical Services Librarian, at the Whipple Free Library in New Boston. “I basically help anybody who needs assistance,” she said. “That could be anybody elderly; it could be a 6-year-old on the computers here in the library; It could be someone who’s just trying to make a PowerPoint. I provide that service, judgment-free, here at the library.” She said that older patrons often look for guidance navigating some of the new technological challenges of modern living. “A lot of them just want to know the best practices for navigating a smartphone, or deciphering scams and spam messages.”

What are you reading?
What am I reading right now? I actually am reading Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. It’s like a dystopian sci-fi kind of novel but it was written back in the ’90s and she projected what life was going to be like in 2025, so I thought I should read it this year and see how accurate she was. It’s been interesting so far. —Juliana Gallo, Youth Services Librarian, Baker Free Library in Bow

9. Toddlers (and their parents) can make friends. Universally, libraries are a tremendous resource for people with young children. Many local libraries hold special events — like touch-a-truck events where small children can interact with actual fire trucks and police cars — as well as regularly scheduled events like storytimes or play groups. Karen Metcalf, the Head of Children’s Services at the Weare Public Library, said her library’s Baby and Toddler Playgroup was originally started to help mothers of young children make friends.

“We get moms, we have some dads, we have nannies and babysitters and grandparents,” Metcalf said. “It runs once a week and it’s for an hour and a half. It’s very much a drop -in program, so they can come and go with what fits their schedule. And there’s a staff member there, and we chat and highlight books and other things the library is doing, but the majority of it is just a chance for the kids to play and the adults to get to know each other and create a community.”

10. And puppets will tell you stories. Just about every library conducts story times for young children, where staff members or volunteers from the community read short, engaging books to groups of rapt toddlers and preschoolers, but the staff at the Bedford Public Library takes it a step further. Emily Sennott is the Head of Children’s Services there.

“We’ve been running Puppet Story Time since last September,” Sennott said. “We take the best picture books we can find that will work with puppets and we read a book and we act out the story with puppets.”

11. You can read the news from 100 years ago. One of the greatest and most under-used resources at some libraries is their microfilm collections of historical newspapers.

“Oh, my god — the car ads!” said Jennifer Needham from the Concord Public Library. “Or just like seeing what businesses existed in the area during that time, it was pretty cool.” Just try reading the storyline in a comic strip from long ago, she said, and it will be almost impossible not to get sucked in. Hundred-year-old newspapers are a solid way to research a family tree or the history of a property or local political conditions. “We make sure that all staff is trained on how to [operate] the microfilm machines,” Needham said. “So if someone comes in and they’ve never used it, we take the time. We show them how to load the microfilm and how to open the software and how to print if they did want to print an article.”

What are you reading?
I just finished The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson, which I really loved. It is a fantasy book, but also a bit of a mystery and a lot of like court intrigue as well, so I was very into that. That was a good one. —Emily Sennott, Children’s Librarian, Bedford Public Library

12. There are book clubs for everyone’s favorite genres. Bonny John, the Director of the Boscawen Public Library, said the group she is part of meets once a month.

“As the Director, I choose a book and we get enough copies through our library loan system and then we sit on that Tuesday, we just discuss the book and what we thought about it And it’s usually a pretty good discussion because not everybody usually likes the book, which is awesome and the way I like it, because I’d rather have a real discussion.”

Library book groups can be centered around reading current best-sellers or be more niche. The Elkins Public Library in Canterbury hosts The Old Man Boring Book Club, said Director Rachel Baker.

This is for fans of local and military history and, as the group’s name suggests, is largely made up of older men.

“There were some older gentlemen in town who would come in and say, ‘Do you have the history of Dover 1863-1864? I heard that it’s a great book.’ We also have a Murder, Mayhem and Adventure book group.”

“Book clubs are kind of a library’s bread and butter,” agreed Michelle Sprague, the Adult Services Librarian at the Wadleigh Memorial Library in Milford. “[Ours] range on topics from history, reading about racism — that’s nonfiction and fiction — and our evening and morning book groups, who meet often for just fun new novels. We also have a cookbook club. The members bake or cook recipes out of a new cookbook every month or a theme every month and they bring the dishes in to share. They also talk about the writing but it’s mostly about eating the food.”

You can also check on starting your own book club. At the Bedford Public Library, for example, cardholders can start their own discussion group and the library will help track down up to 10 copies of your book for group members, according to the website.

What are you reading?
What is on my desk right now is actually Amanda Grappone Osmer’s The Founding. She wrote a book about the Grappone Automotive Group and she’s presenting here in October, so I’m reading that in preparation for her appearance. —Rachel Baker, Director, Elkins Public library in Canterbury.

13. The whole city can be your book club. In Concord and Nashua, the idea of a book discussion group has been expanded to include each of the cities.

“This year’s [Concord Reads] book was Where You’ll Find Me,” said Jennifer Needham from the Concord Public Library. “What we do every year is we choose a book, we order a number of copies, we have a display as soon as you walk in the library for the public to check out, and then that month leading up to the author coming to speak we’ll have both children’s and adult programming that is thematically related to that Concord Reads. The last event is when the author comes, and for the past few years we’ve held that event at the Bank of New Hampshire stage. It’s so well-attended.”

Jennifer McCormack, Director of the Nashua Public Library, said the organizers of Nashua Reads try to pick a book by a well-known author to come speak about their work.

“They tend to be, I want to say, bigger-name authors,” McCormack said. Some of the authors who have come to speak at the library include Sarah Blake (The Gilded Hour), David Grann (Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI), and Stephen Puleo (Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919).

14. The clubs aren’t just for books. “We have clubs for all different ages,” said the Director of the Merrimack Public Library, Yvette Couser. “For example, we’ve had a group of people who like to knit or crochet do any kind of hand stitching — right now. It’s usually yarn-work. They come in on Thursday afternoons and they have one of our meeting rooms for two hours and they visit with each other and work on their projects and it’s just lovely. We also have a crew of teenage boys coming after school. [One of the boys] found out that we have games, video games, and consoles, and decided to bring his friends down to the library, borrow a console, bring it into our meeting room, check out some games, hook it up to the TV in there and play.”

Clubs meeting at area libraries span a huge range of activities, from mahjong to a ukulele support group. The Bedford Public Library hosts a Pokemon Club. In Boscawen, there are yoga classes. Children can read to a dog at the Manchester City Library and their parents can learn how to write a resume and interview for a job.

What are you reading?
Oh my gosh I’m reading a book called Isola, by Allegra Goodman. I’m reading it from my book discussion group. It’s set in, I believe, the 1700s. And the main character has a guardian because she was orphaned as a small child. Her guardian takes her on one of his ships and they’re sailing to what turned into Canada and she ends up falling in love with the guardian’s secretary and that’s where I’m at right now. Something’s going to happen; I know it! —Dianne Hathaway, Director, Goffstown Public Library

15. You can watch an earthquake in real time. The Merrimack Public Library has a working seismograph on site. “Our seismograph is connected to an international network of seismographs,” said Library Director Yvette Couser. “The idea [is to have it] in a public space so that we could encourage people in our community to become interested in this level of science and become basically citizen scientists, and watch how the tectonic plates are moving in New England.”

16. You can apply for a passport. “We fill the same duties that most places people would go to a post office for, so we can fill that same role,” said Juliana Gallo from the Baker Free Library in Bow. “It’s a pretty hassle-free process, as long as people bring all the documentation they need.”

17. Or get a document notarized. Many librarians are Notary Publics. “The Brookline Public Library provides limited notary services at no cost to residents of Brookline and Brookline Public Library card holders,” said Stephanie Seales, the Library Assistant for Circulation and Inter-Library Loans. “I’m actually one of them. “We don’t [notarize] anything with real estate, though; that’s long and very complex.”

18. You can learn about a new culture. One of many activities held by the Nashua Public Library is something called Passport to the World, said Library Director Jennifer McCormack. “It’s an event series that we host about every quarter. We feature food from a local restaurant or vendor. We have music. We’ve had some great performers, dancers and other performers.” She said that she and her staff try to choose cultures that are representative of part of Nashua’s diverse population. “For instance,” she said, “Puerto Rico was one. We did a Ukraine Night. We’ve done China, Quebec and El Salvador. We started with Paris in January of 2024. Another really fun one was the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

What are you reading?
Right now, our reading group is reading The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. It’s been on the bestseller lists for months. It’s been pretty popular. —Bonny John, Director, Boscawen Public Library

19. You can explore new music on CD — and borrow a CD player. The Bedford Public Library has a collection of more than 2,700 music CDs from all genres. It’s an opportunity for patrons to explore new music, said Head of Information Services Patricia Kline-Millard — or to do a deep dive into one type, like classical or jazz.

“We just bought a two-CD set that was a live recording of [experimental jazz composer] Sun Ra. A wonderful thing about the library is that we do still have this physical format, especially for music that is harder to find online,” she said. “And we do have a CD player that we circulate, because a lot of people don’t own those anymore.”

20. You can take home a painting. The Manchester City Library has a collection of framed paintings and prints that patrons can take home and hang on their walls. “You can check out any of the framed artwork,” said Dori Eisenstat, the Library’s Teen Librarian. “You can keep it for up to eight weeks. There aren’t any renewals on them but you can bring it home, use it in any way you want, and bring it back in eight weeks.”

21. You can go to a film festival. The Nashua Public Library sponsors a Tiny Film Festival each year. “Our ceremony is approximately the same time as the Oscars,” said Library Director Jennifer McCormack, “so we usually take submissions in February, and then we have a screening of all the submissions early in March. Anybody from any age group can submit, and we judge by age group, so there’s little kids and teens and adults. It’s a one-minute film, on any topic that you want — it just needs to be suitable for public screening. It’s just a blast to do.” One of this year’s winners was The Case of the Missing Pizza. “The movie A Little Worm for the little kids was just so creative,” she said.

22. Or have a movie night of obscure movies at home. For film buffs, many libraries own subscriptions to services like Kanopy, Hoopla or IndieFlix, which allow patrons to stream movies and TV shows, some of which are hard to find elsewhere.

“You can stream films right from home,” said Nashua Library’s Jennifer McCormack. “You can put an app on your TV or on your device. It lets you watch a lot of independent films that are from smaller film houses. There’s also Kanopy Kids, so there’s kids’ content on there.”

What are you reading?
Right now I am reading a book by Kent Haruf, who is an author who has passed away, but he writes books set in rural eastern Colorado. His most well-known one is Plainsong. But the one I’m reading now is actually the first one he wrote, but it wasn’t the first one he published. It’s called The Tie that Binds. I love the roughness of first books. I just think I love that they’re not so polished. —Stephanie Seales, Library Assistant, Circulation and Inter-Library Loans at Brookline Public Library

23. You can plant a garden. Many area libraries maintain a Seed Library, where patrons can share seeds.

“It is basically seeds from plants of all types,” said Stephanie Seales at the Brookline Public Library. “People can come in and take whatever it is that they would like to plant and try to grow and then we also take donations after the growing season if someone knows how to save seeds. We’ve had classes here on how to save and preserve seeds. They can bring back seeds and put them in the library for the following growing season.”

“We actually have a donation envelope,” said Patricia Kline-Millard in Bedford, “that they put the seeds into that ask for information about the plants. ‘How easy was it to grow? How hard was it to grow? How big will it get?’”

24. You can get help writing your novel. As well as nurturing readers, some area libraries help writers develop their skills. The Boscawen Public Library holds a monthly Writers’ Group, said Director Bonny John.

“Sometimes there’s a theme,” she said, “but most of the time it’s just freestyle. We have some people who write poetry. Some people write about personal experiences, and some people just like to write stories. One of our group members two years ago actually had a book published about her experiences and the group was instrumental in helping her to do that, so it was pretty exciting for us.”

Each year, the Derry Public Library hosts the Derry Author Fest. “That’s only in the spring,” said Reference Librarian Erin Robinson. “It’s a full day for writers who are interested in learning the trade and the craft and how to get published. We have a full day of MFA-style [Master of Fine Arts] workshops. It’s free and open to the public.”

25. You can go on a grown-up field trip. Some libraries organize field trips for adults to visit the sorts of places they didn’t pay attention to when they were in school.

“We take a group of adults and we go off site, off campus from the library, to kind of explore [those places] a little bit more,” said Sarah Ballard, Adult Services Librarian for the Hollis Social Library. “We recently went to a local schoolhouse, we went to a restored cooper shed in town, and we went to the Nashua fish hatchery. And what’s fun about those trips is we usually try to partner with somebody who works there or somebody who knows something about those specific experiences and tell us about the history and we learn a little bit about what they do, what the history is, and we get kind of a one-hour education just as if you were a kid, but we’re kind of spending the day as adults learning about these things.”

“We had a field trip recently to the Meadow Ledge Farm in Loudon,” said Caroline Pynes, Director of the Chichester Town Library. “We did some apple picking and did a little tour of the orchard on a wagon. And we also had a cider demonstration, we had some cider after the cider demonstration, and then we had some of their apple cider doughnuts. People had a really great time and we ended up with a lot of apples that we took home.”

What are you reading?
I’m reading a book called My Best Friend’s Honeymoon. It’s a new rom-com by Meryl Wilsner. It’s about a woman who had her marriage fall apart at the last minute at the altar, and she goes on her honeymoon with her best friend, who’s also a woman who’s been in love with her for a long time. There’s laughs and love. It seems like it’s coming together for a happy ending. —Michelle Sprague, Adult Services Librarian, Wadleigh Memorial Library in Milford

26. You can check out museum passes. Almost all area libraries have passes available for patrons to visit museums for free or at a reduced rate, including sites such as the SEE Science Center and the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester; the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire in Londonderry; the New England Aquarium, the Boston Children’s Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Children’s Museum in Dover. The Rodgers Library in Hudson, for example, also offers tickets to the Nashua Silver Knights games, passes for New Hampshire State Parks, discounts for New Hampshire Philharmonic performances and passes to the Salem [Mass.] Witch Museum (though not in October), according to the website.

27. You can borrow a pipe wrench or a set of bocce balls. More and more local libraries have a “Library of Things” that patrons can check out tools or equipment from.

“Maybe they only need to use something once,” said Tanya Ricker, the Director of the Whipple Free Library in New Boston. “They don’t need to go out and purchase it, or they want to test something before they decide to buy it, or it’s a matter of convenience. For instance, we have snowshoes. So say you have some family visiting and you all want to go snowshoeing. You don’t have to go buy extra snowshoes, you could use ours. We have a KitchenAid Mixer. Not everybody can afford a $500 KitchenAid mixer, but you can borrow it and make a fancy cake for your kid’s birthday. We have two wheelchairs that we also have available. We’ve got an external CD drive for your computer because most computers don’t come with them anymore. For us, it’s just trying to sort of figure out what our community needs and wants and be able to provide them with the opportunity to have those things.”

“We have board games, telescopes, and a paper shredder,” said Jennifer McCormack, Director of the Nashua Public Library. “We have one of those devices that you can check the code in your car if your check-engine light comes on. It’s a way to try things that maybe you think you might want to have, like a ring light [for filming videos] or a metal detector. We have a podcast microphone too, in the Teen Room.”

“We are lending out portable wi-fi hot-spots,” said Dianne Hathaway, Director of the Goffstown Public Library. “They allow folks to have internet access at home; it gives them that ability either for work or school. We’re circulating an XBox console. We’re circulating a page magnifier for someone who has low vision. We also have a pair of colorblind sunglasses that we’re lending. They’re very expensive so it gives people with colorblind issues the ability to try them out before they spend money.

What are you reading?
So I found the Booker Long List — the books that had been on the long list for the Booker Prize. And I’m going down the list and reading those. The list isn’t as long as I thought it was going to be. I had a patron when I worked at the Nashua Public Library who was reading all of the Pulitzer Prize books. That prize started in the ’40s and she was reading every one that was awarded. I had another coworker who for one year her annual New Year’s resolution was to read one book from each one of the Dewey series. So like the Dewey’s arranged by zeros or 100s or 200s or 300s. And she wanted to read one book from each of the 100s in Dewey.
Anyway, the book that I’m reading right now is called Universality. It’s by Natasha Brown. —Kersten Matera, Director, Maxfield Public Library in Loudon

28. You can also borrow a room. Need a place to host a community meeting? Rodgers Library in Hudson, for example, has a Community Room that can accommodate up to 60 people for not-for-profit groups, according to its website. For smaller groups, two study rooms are available, one that can be reserved in advance and another that is first come first served, the website said. Or if you just need some peace and quiet for yourself, Rodgers has study carrels available. Many libraries have a version of these offerings; see websites for information on reservations.

29. You can score a new puzzle, research your ancestors or find other new hobbies or adventures. Many libraries hold puzzle swaps, or crafting swaps where people can exchange crafting supplies. There are exercise classes for seniors. Many libraries hold genealogy classes and maintain special collections of documents to help people research their family trees. There are crafting classes, and movie screenings. There are first aid classes. There are escape rooms for children, teens and adults. There are groups for playing bridge, or cribbage, or Scrabble, or Dungeons & Dragons. There are chess clubs, and Lego groups for children and adults. Check out the “events” section of your library’s website for yet another reason to visit.

Your local libraries

  • Allenstown Public Library 59 Main St., Allenstown, 485-7651, allenstownlibrary.org
  • Amherst Town Library 14 Main St., Amherst, 673-2288, amherstlibrary.org
  • Bedford Public Library 3 Meetinghouse Road, Bedford, 472-2300, bedfordnhlibrary.org
  • Boscawen Public Library 116 N. Main St., Boscawen, 753-8576, boscawenpubliclibrary.org
  • Baker Free Library 509 South St., Bow, 224-7113, bowbakerfreelibrary.org
  • Brookline Public Library 16 Main St., Brookline, 673-3330, brooklinelibrarynh.org
  • Chichester Town Library 161 Main St., Chichester, 798-5613, chichesternh.org/town-library
  • Concord Public Library 45 Green St., Concord, 225-8670, concordnh.gov/1983/Library
  • Derry Public Library 64 E Broadway, Derry, 432-6140, derrypl.org
  • Dunbarton Public Library 1004 School St., Dunbarton, 774-3546, dunbartonlibrary.org
  • Elkins Public Library 9 Center Road, Canterbury, 783-4386, elkinspubliclibrary.org
  • George H. & Ella M. Rodgers Memorial Library 194 Derry Road, Hudson, 886-6030, rodgerslibrary.org
  • Goffstown Public Library 2 High St., Goffstown, 497-2102, goffstownlibrary.com
  • Griffin Free Public Library 22 Hooksett Road, Auburn, 483-5374, griffinfree.org
  • Hollis Social Library 2 Monument Square, Hollis, 465-7721, hollislibrary.org
  • Hooksett Library 31 Mount Saint Mary’s Way, Hooksett, 485-6092, hooksettlibrary.org
  • Hopkinton and Contoocook Town Library 61 Houston Drive, Contoocook, 746-3663, hopkintontownlibrary.org
  • Leach Public Library 276 Mammoth Road, Londonderry, 432-1132, londonderrynh.gov/leach-library
  • Manchester City Library 405 Pine St., Manchester, 624-6550, and West Branch Library, 76 N. Main St., 624-6560; manchesterlibrary.org
  • Maxfield Public Library 8 Route 129, Loudon, 798-5153, maxfieldlibrary.org
  • Merrimack Public Library 470 DW Highway, Merrimack, 424-5021, merrimack.aspendiscovery.org
  • Nashua Public Library 2 Court St., Nashua, 589-4600, nashualibrary.org
  • Nesmith Library 8 Fellows Road, Windham, 432-7154, nesmithlibrary.org
  • Pembroke Town Library 313 Pembroke St., Pembroke, 485-7851, pembroke-library.org
  • Wadleigh Memorial Library 49 Nashua St., Milford, 249-0645, wadleighlibrary.org
  • Weare Public Library 10 Paige Memorial Lane, Weare, 529-2044, wearepubliclibrary.com
  • Whipple Free Library 67 Mont Vernon Road, New Boston, 487-3391, whipplefreelibrary.org
  • Wilton Public and Greg Free Library 7 Forest Road, Wilton, 654-2581, wiltonlibrarynh.org

Junk Mail

A surprising number of cocktail recipes call for Champagne.

Cocktails made in a bar often use it to give a bit of bubbliness to a drink, and it looks good on the list of ingredients on the drink menu. If you’re drinking by yourself, it’s a nice little bit of self-indulgence, and if you’re with friends or a date, you can have fun pretending to be sophisticated. It’s no big deal for a bar to keep a couple bottles of Champagne or prosecco on ice, and use up one or two in a brunch service.

At home, it’s a slightly different story.

If you’re throwing a party, and will be using up a bottle or two of the good stuff over the course of an evening, it’s one thing. But most of us make one or two cocktails at a time, usually to celebrate making it to Friday. We don’t generally have an open bottle of Champagne, and it seems silly to open one just to make a couple of cocktails. If we’re opening a bottle of champagne, why not just drink that?

Beer, on the other hand—

This is a riff on a popular drink from the 1930s called an Air Mail Cocktail. Our version is slightly more down-market, but not less delicious for it.

2 ounces rum – whatever rum you feel like. In my particular case, I still have a quarter bottle or so of some rum I infused with peanut butter and bananas earlier in the summer. It sits on my kitchen counter, and seems to ask, “If not now, when?”

½ ounce ginger syrup – see below

½ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

1 ounce lager beer – again, whatever you have on hand.

Cheetos – Just because. They seem like a good pairing for this drink.

Pour the rum, ginger syrup and lime juice over ice in a cocktail shaker, and shake for 20 seconds or so, until there is a line of condensation on the shaker, and you can hear the ice cubes start to break up inside.

Strain into a cocktail glass, then add the beer. Don’t worry about mixing or stirring. Things will work themselves out.

Have you ever had the post office hold your mail for you while you’ve been on vacation? Then when you get back, and get your mail all at once, it is a kaleidoscope of brightly colored political flyers, seed catalogs, time-share offers, and a postcard from yourself telling you how much fun you were on your vacation? The Junk Mail cocktail is a bit like that experience. Depending on what kind of rum you use, and how gingery your ginger syrup is, bright, fun flavors will come at your mouth from every direction.

This is a drink that will remind you that you really are fun when you relax a little.

Ginger Syrup — Grate a large hand of ginger on a box grater. Don’t worry about peeling it. Combine equal amounts of water and sugar by weight in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil to make a simple syrup. Remove from heat, and stir the shredded ginger into the syrup. Cover the pot, and leave everything to steep for several hours, or overnight. Strain through a tea towel, twisting and wringing the towel, to squeeze the ginger pulp. Bottled, this will keep in your refrigerator for a month or so.

Featured photo: Junk Mail. Photo by John Fladd.

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