Gettin’ In A Groove

Today was a gorgeous day! Cold, but sunny and bright. The lakes in this area are beginning to freeze over. Soon there’ll be ice fishing. I can’t see myself walking out onto a frozen lake anytime soon, I’ve seen way too many 20/20 shows and YouTube videos about all the things that can go wrong when you think water is frozen and it’s not. But who knows. The last 6 months have brought a lot change, both mentally and physically. Maybe someday you’ll see me sitting out there perfectly comfortable with a fish on the end of my line. I’ve learned over the years to “never say never”. It sure seems like the first time you utter something like that, God comes up with other plans for you just to prove that you shouldn’t be telling Him how your life is going to go.

Do you see that little bit of snow on the left side of the mountain? That’s the tip of a ski resort on the other side. And that snow is man-made. We aren’t familiar with the ski resorts in this area yet, but it seems that they are all making man-made snow. Maybe they like to get a head start and then hope for the real flakes to fly in December?

This is on the way to Peterborough from Henniker.

Almost every town has a cemetery similar to this one. I love the headstones. I thought this one looked a little eerie. I didn’t remember the others that we’ve seen having such thin headstones. When I walked up to it, I actually questioned whether it was real. Which was ridiculous, because it was huge, this photograph is only a small piece of the cemetery. But seriously, it looked like something from a movie scene.

Headed into Peterborough, NH.

A memorial to all of the Peterborough residents who perished in WWII. This is just one side of the wall.

There are many restaurants, shops, and galleries throughout the downtown area. All unique and beautiful.

I wouldn’t doubt that there’s probably some rule about not taking pictures in galleries…I won’t make a habit of it.

These two characters were teasing me about taking their picture, so I went ahead and did it. He thought I was someone exciting doing something exciting and asked me, “what do you do?”.  “Me? I don’t do anything, I’m just visiting. But I will put you on my blog.” They got a good laugh out of that.

Peterborough is a popular tourist destination in NH but I’ve noticed that even in the tiniest of towns the people of NH take pride in their surroundings. As you drive through the communities there are decorative wreaths all over public buildings as well as private homes and they fill their window boxes and flower pots with sprigs of winter branches and berries. It’s absolutely beautiful and gives everything such an inviting touch.

This was such a neat window display outside of an art store. I wish I could have gotten better pictures for you but the reflection in the window was working against me. There’s a layer of snow on top, then dirt, and then you can see the little mouse home underground. Adorable and so much attention to detail! All done out of clay and other materials. The underground pictures almost look like paintings when you photograph them, but they’re not. They are tiny miniatures made by someone with a wonderfully creative imagination.

This little mouse looks like he had a sledding accident. I’m sure he’s just slipped in the snow or taking a rest though…

This was the entrance to another wonderful shop. Couldn’t you just move right in?

This body of water was off to the side of some of the shops. There was a little garden in front of it with benches where people were sitting and soaking up the sun.

This was right across the street. It had the most calming sound. There’s another lovely park right next to it.

This is the view from behind the waterfall.

Tony was pleased that the town was dog friendly and he was allowed to walk the dogs around the park, even off leash if he chose to do so! He had dog duty (as well as dog doodie) while I looked through some of the shops.

This was right across the street from where we had lunch. I’m not sure what’s inside, we’ll have to come back another time without the dogs. We did leave the dogs in the car while we had lunch, but it was so chilly we didn’t want to leave them the whole time we toured the town. Peterborough is only 20 minutes from where we’ll be living so we’ll have plenty of time to really explore later. Right now we’re just trying to get a taste for the area.

I’ve just realized we forgot to find and take pictures of The MacDowell Art Colony! We’ll have to get pictures of that on our next trip.

Speaking of getting a taste for the area… This shop is filled with home-made chocolate and home-made ice cream. They even have a little restaurant inside. They have all kinds of old-fashioned candy and decorations as well.

Living vicariously through my husbands cookie dough ice cream.

After lunch we headed toward Keene to get some banking done for the final leg of the house purchase. Honestly, there’s so much paperwork and requirements involved that it’s a bit ridiculous. We just keep reminding ourselves that we’re almost there!

On our way we drove through the quaint town of Dublin, NH.

This is where they print the Annual Farmer’s Almanac.

It was a productive and really fun day. Once we finished our banking in Keene we ran a few errands and I found a reasonably priced grocery store with a huge gluten-free isle. They also had organic vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, and pretty much anything else we’ll need. That was a relief! I was beginning to wonder how we were going to continue trying to eat as much organic foods as possible. Once spring and summer arrive, there are organic farms all over the place where we’ll be able to purchase meat, vegetables, and eggs.

We even managed to buy a new king size bed today and I was able to scratch a few things off of the Christmas shopping to-do list.

I hope you are all doing well and I sure appreciate all of the kind comments you’re leaving. I’m pleased that you’ve been able to enjoy our journey right alongside us.

~ April