Category: Family Fun

Treasure Hunt 22/02/17

Dear Donna,

I was wondering if you could give me some background on these two pieces of jewelry. They were given to me about 55 years ago. The one on the left has a little knob on the top and I was told that if you unscrew it you can put perfume inside. The one on the right is a pencil and it has a chain. It will extend, and you can use it to write.

J

Dear J,

What you have here are two useful pieces of costume jewelry. Both are gold-filled/plated (gold wash over a base metal). And both are mid 1900s in age. The styles and usefulness go back much further than that, though. If you do some research on chatelaines, you will find similar pieces and how they were worn and used during the Victorian era.

If you were going to a dance then you might have on your chatelaine a dance card holder, perfume, a comb etc. Most back in that period of time were sterling silver, gold, etc.

Either then or in a more modern version, they are ingenious pieces for a bracelet or pin. The value on either would be about $20 each. For usefulness, priceless!

Kiddie Pool 22/02/17

Family fun for the weekend

Lunch with the gnomes

Take the “little” in your life to the “Little Lunch Date” at Chunky’s Cinema Pubs (707 Huse Road, Manchester; 151 Coliseum Ave., Nashua; 150 Bridge St., Pelham, chunkys.com) on Friday, Feb. 18, at 11:30 a.m. featuring the 2011 movie Gnomeo & Juliet (G). The movie features the voices of Emily Blunt and James McAvoy as star-crossed lovers from the red- and blue-hat having gnome societies, respectively. Admission is free but you can secure a seat in advance by purchasing $5 food vouchers.

Theater with the Marches

Get the antics of Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth in Little Women, the Broadway musical as performed by the Palace Youth Theatre, on Tuesday, Feb. 22, and Wednesday, Feb. 23, at the Rex Theatre (23 Amherst St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 for adults, $12 for kids ages 6 to 12.

Winterfest with the neighbors

If you are looking for some fun and an excuse for a drive, Lowell is holding its Winterfest during the evening on Friday, Feb. 18, and on Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium (50 E. Merrimack St. in Lowell, Mass.). The event runs from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, according to the event’s Facebook page, which lists plans as including entertainment, food trucks, a soup competition, an arts market, a youth mural competition, ice skating and family activities. See lowellwinterfest.com.

Basketball with the Wildcats

Catch the women’s UNH basketball team on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m. when they play University at Albany at Lundholm Gymnasium at UNH in Durham. On Wednesday, Feb. 23, the women’s Wildcats team will play New Jersey Institute of Technology at 6 p.m. Tickets to individual games cost $10, $8 for seniors and 12 and under. See unhwildcats.com for details.

Storytime with a snail

The Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St. in downtown Manchester; bookerymht.com) will feature Dashka Slater’s books Escargot and A Book for Escargot, both illustrated by Sydney Hanson, at its weekly storytime and craft on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 11:30 a.m. After the books, kids can make a paper salad. Register for the event online.

Kiddie Pool 22/02/10

Family fun for the weekend

One bird, two bird

• This Saturday, Feb. 12, and Sunday, Feb. 13, is the Backyard Winter Bird Survey — an excuse to do a little winter bird watching and enjoy both birds and math out in the wilds of your own backyard. Go to the New Hampshire Audubon’s nhbirdrecords.org to download the forms and read the rules for counting birds, which can be done for as long or short a time as you and your fellow bird watchers would like. Along with more than two dozen bird species, the form also asks for the number of red and gray squirrels spotted.

Wildcats basketball

• For those looking for some in-person college basketball, the University of New Hampshire is allowing masked spectators to Wildcats games this season, according to unhwildcats.com. This Saturday, Feb. 12, at noon you can catch the women’s team play the Binghamton University Bearcats at noon at Lundholm Gymnasium at UNH in Durham. On Monday, Feb. 14, catch the men’s team in their game against UMBC at 4 p.m. (the game is a reschedule of the Jan. 2 game and tickets to that game will be honored). Tickets cost $10, $8 for seniors and 12 and under.

Free day

• As with every second Saturday, New Hampshire residents who go to the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) on Saturday, Feb. 12, will get in for free. See the website for the museum’s Covid policies. The museum is open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Current exhibits include “As Precious As Gold: Carpets from the Islamic World,” “WPA in NH: Philip Guston and Musa McKim” and “Tomie DePaola at the Currier.”

Also scheduled for the Currier on Saturday: The state’s mobile vaccination van will be on site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register to get a shot at currier.org/event/vaccine-van.

Science Friday

• Little scientists can head to Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St., Dover; 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) on Friday, Feb. 11, for another installment of Science Friday. The Friday sessions (which run through the end of April) feature “messy experiments and activities that focus on sensory fun,” according to the website. The events take place at 10 a.m. during the morning session (which runs from 9 a.m. to noon) or at 2 p.m. during the afternoon (from 1 to 4 p.m.). The activities are geared to ages 3 and up with the help of a grownup. To visit the museum, pay for admission ($11 for everyone over 1 year old, $9 for 65+) and reserve a time slot in advance.

Save the date: for JoJo Siwa

The JoJo Siwa D.R.E.A.M. The Tour will come to the SNHU Arena (555 Elm St. in Manchester; snhuarena.com) on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. The tour is rescheduled from May 2020 (tickets for that show are valid here) but new tickets are available.

Treasure Hunt 22/02/10

Dear Donna,

We use this pitcher every Christmas, as my mother did as well while I was growing up. I’m wondering if you could tell me anything about it. I’m not looking to sell because of family memories, but it’s always good to know more information.

Diane

Dear Diane,

I have a smile on my face reading your note. Glad to see your pitcher still being used and creating more memories.

Your pitcher has a very interesting history — good reading if you want to pursue it. What your mother has passed down is a piece of Heisey glass. It’s been around since the early 1900s and as I said has a long and interesting story.

Diane, Heisey glass has several patterns and even colors. Yours is called the Greek key pattern. You should be able to flip it over and on the bottom in the center you will see the trademark. It’s a diamond with an H in the center.

As long as it is in good condition with no damage, chips, cracks, fogging in the glass, etc., the value would be in the range of $50. The real value, though, is that you still use and cherish it.

Diane, I do think you would enjoy the history of Heisey if you get the time.

Kiddie Pool 22/02/03

Family fun for the weekend

Smallfoot, take two

• Last weekend’s storm led to the cancellation of parts of Concord’s Winterfest — including a scheduled screening of the animated movie Smallfoot (PG, 2018), about a village of Yetis and featuring the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common and others. That screening is back on for this coming Saturday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m. at the Red River Theatres (11 S. Main St. in Concord; redrivertheatres.org, 224-4600). Tickets for last Saturday’s show can be transferred to this coming Saturday’s show (email [email protected]).

Science Fridays

• Head to the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (6 Washington St. in Dover; 742-2002, childrens-museum.org) on Fridays (through the end of April) for their special “Science Friday” programming featuring “messy experiments and activities that focus on sensory fun,” according to the website. “Activities can be used as a jumping off point for learning about scientific concepts like states of matter or immiscible liquids,” the website said. The events take place at 10 a.m. during the morning session (which runs from 9 a.m. to noon) or at 2 p.m. during the afternoon (from 1 to 4 p.m.). The activities are geared to ages 3 and up with the help of a grownup. To visit the museum, pay for admission ($11 for everyone over 1 year old, $9 for 65+) and reserve a time slot in advance.

As of Jan. 31, the museum also still had tickets available for its Dinosaur Valentine’s Party on Sunday, Feb. 13, with sessions including one from 1 to 3 p.m. Admission costs $16.

Some Plays

• A the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; 668-5588, palacetheatre.org), the Palace Youth Theatre group (featuring student actors in second through twelfth grade) will present the tale of Wilbur, “Some Pig,” in Charlotte’s Web, a play based on the book by E.B. White. The show will run Tuesday, Feb. 8, and Wednesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. Call for tickets.

• Head to Narnia for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, presented by Epping Community Theater’s Youth Theater on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Epping Playhouse (38 Ladd’s Lane in Epping, eppingtheater.org). Admission costs $10 at the door (cash only).

Magic and stories

• “Storytime and magic” is the theme for the Saturday, Feb. 5, storytime at Bookery Manchester (844 Elm St. in Manchester; bookerymht.com) at 11:30 a.m. The event will feature a reading of Tomie dePaola’s Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons and then a magic show from DaSean “Magicman” Greene, according to the website, where you can register for this free event.

Treasure Hunt 22/02/03

Dear Donna,

This lamp appears to be bronze and is 3 feet tall. It belonged to my grandmother and she passed away so I don’t have any detail on when or where it was purchased. It was in her home since I could remember (1970s). She loved anything with crystals!

Laura

Dear Laura,

That is a big lamp! I can see why she liked it.

The style of it looks to be from the 1970s from the pictures but could be a lot older. But let’s determine some things first. If the lamp is bronze it should weigh a lot. It could also be a mixed metal with a bronze look on the surface (usually you can see spots of a gray metal from underneath). If you see any signs of a different metal coloring that can help determine a value.

While you’re looking at the bottom, check for any markings, a maker, etc. (though that information could be elsewhere on the lamp so give it a good look all over).

From the pictures I’m thinking it’s not a bronze metal, and the crystals have a watermelon sheen to them that are applied to give a glimmer. The chains are a later style like the 1970s. It’s still a very interesting-looking lamp. I think the value would be in the range of $200, but with more information that estimate could be higher.

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