They're Melting

Nothing last forever, not the Wicked Witch of the West (think Wizard of Oz) or ice sculptures.

These ice figures were created on Saturday as part of the Nashua Holiday Stroll, the city's major holiday event which drew thousands of people from the area and neighboring states. A few sculptures were still standing early Sunday; however, with temperatures in the mid-40s, their demise was imminent. 

The sculptures were created at the event in front of Nashua City Hall and would remain there until all were melted.

Unfortunately, we didn't see most of the Holiday Stroll which included a 1/2-mile candlelit procession down Main Street from City Hall to Railroad Square. 

That's because we were helping with traffic control as part of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). The downtown area was closed to traffic and CERT volunteers, like ourselves, were posted on side streets to direct motorists to detours.

We hope to catch the 24th annual Holiday Stroll in 2017. Grenville captured this shot of the city's Christmas tree after this year's lighting ceremony.

Turkey in the House

We hope that all who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Our holiday was shared with family in RI. That meant . . . NO LEFTOVERS at our home.

We remembered the scene in the classic film, A Christmas Story after the family's Christmas turkey is ravaged by a neighbor's dogs: 

The heavenly aroma still hung in the house. But it was gone, all gone! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!"

There were no animals involved, yet we too had no turkey leftovers. 

Thankfully before the holiday, we bought a small turkey that Grenville cooked yesterday. Our "traditional" sides were mashed sweet potatoes (with maple syrup), the classic green bean casserole, and homemade cranberry sauce, but no stuffing (this time).  

Now, we have leftovers for all things turkey this week.
This is why we gave up stuffing — to enjoy pumpkin pie for dessert!

A Christmas Story
© 1983 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / UA Entertainment

If you've never seen A Christmas Story, you should treat yourself. Director Bob Clark’s classic 1983 holiday comedy set in the 1940s is about a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The film has a distinction that few family movies can match. People watch it over and over again thanks to a 24-hour marathon airing on TNT and/or TBS on Christmas Day. 

The film is based on short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author Jean Shepherd and based on his book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash. The film is based on some of his funniest and most well known stories.

The film is in our holiday video collection. We watched it last night and enjoyed pumpkin pie with egg nog, another holiday classic — for us.

Snowed In

(This post is in place of the usual Friday Funnies for some pre-holiday humor.)

NOPE there's hasn't been a major snowfall in Nashua, NH — yet. Just an overnight dusting that Grenville posted about this week. 

That said, we have "snow" in our apartment and it will be scattered throughout our New England winter village (photos to come soon). Now, for the humor which comes in the form of brief conversation this week after buying artificial snow.

Beatrice: I wonder why it's called Buffalo Snow?
Grenville: Probably because that's where it's made (he said with a (very) straight face.)
Beatrice: Hmmm, it was probably made in China and just given that name because
               it snows in Buffalo.

YIKES, Grenville was right, which even surprised him as he had no idea that Buffalo Snow is actually made in Buffalo, NY, where it really does snow a LOT!

And, so this got me wondering . . .

How often does it snow in Buffalo, NY?
Buffalo's first winter snowfall usually occurs in November;  the last snowfall is in April. Some early snow has fallen in October and late snow in May. Buffalo typically is snow-free from June through September.

How many snowstorms annually in Buffalo?
The average annual snowfall in Buffalo is 93.4 inches; some areas receive nearly a year's worth of snow in about five days. Most snowfalls result in less than an inch. Snowfalls of over 5 inches usually occur four times a year. Major blizzards of 10 inches or more happen on average once a year. For about two-third of winter days, Buffalo has an average of an inch of snow on the ground. it snows the most during January.

Does it snow more in Buffalo than other places in the U.S.?
Buffalo is in the top 101 U.S. cities (population 50,000 +) with the highest average annual snowfall. It ranks #8 behind cities in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

By comparison, several New England cities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were in the bottom 50s and 70s on the list.

But, we know that snow will be a-coming.

It's Turkey Day!!!! It's Turkey Day!!!!!

Turkey Day is upon us😱. If you are in charge of the meal, pleases extra care. 

Watch what you are cooking. 

Keep kids away from the stove.

Here are more tips from FEMA (your Tax $ at Work)

Beatrice and I hope you all have a Happy & SAFE Holiday. AND may the Bird be with You.

Giving Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S., a time when family and friends gather to indulge in turkey dinner with all the trimmings — cranberry relish to pumpkin pie.

(But some may not be celebrating as much)

We are thankful for all our blog friends and wish everyone a wonderful celebration.

Beatrice & Grenville

NYC City-Scapes

Aside from time spent at a family wedding in NYC last month, we had some time to explore areas near our downtown hotel and see some iconic architecture.

Grand Central Station is just as grandly large as its name suggests with so many people coming and going. It's a great place to people watch, but our time was limited.

Evening views of the Chrysler Building seen on an after dinner walk and the Empire State Building (from our hotel room) were impressive and colorful.

This rainy and foggy view near the Chelsea Piers area was taken before the ceremony. The piers, not visible here, served as a passenger ship ferry in the early 1900s. The piers were used by the RMS Lusitania and were the destination of the RMS Titanic.

We made brief stops at a few landmark NYC buildings: Chrysler Building (top left and bottom left) with its art deco look, Daily News (top right and bottom right) with no sign of Clark Kent, and the Waldorf Astoria (bottom middle) with its signature 1893 World's Fair lobby clock. It was designed to commemorate Columbus' discovery of America.

While I can't identify these buildings (except the green-topped Chrysler building) the structures were impressive. There's never a shortage of amazing architecture in NYC.

These "modern" buildings presented interesting angles and some fun with lines.

 

NYC has always been an amazing destination for me.

First Snow

Yessireeee!!!! We had our first snow the other day. I know ours was not much compared to some of the other parts of the country, BUT it was exciting for us. Here are some shots for Home and Mine Falls Park.

Not enough for the new Snow Shoes from last year, but it's a start.
Hope that everyone has a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving and remembers to Give Thanks for what you have.

Grenville

Holiday Hints From Grenville

The holiday season is here. Are you prepared? Here are some thoughts to make the Holiday Season not just HAPPY but also SAFE.

Stuck at the airport this holiday season? Download the @FEMA App & customize personal safety info, emergency plans & kit list! #prepared

And be prepared for Winter Travel Emergencies

We hope everyone has a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Grenville

Do You Flea (Market)?

Yes, it's that time of year — the holiday season is a-coming, much sooner than we want it to. Decorations and holiday music have already started, way too early for me.

Tis also the season for holiday craft fairs and indoor flea markets, like the one I went to this past weekend at the senior center in Nashua, NH.

There was the usual assortment of well, just about everything from household items, games,  dish ware, puzzles, books, appliances and outdated electronics. 

And, there was no shortage of holiday items and snowmen (as you can see).

Of course, I shopped and bought a few items — here are my 50 cent bargains. The Welcome slate will be displayed outside our apt with the rest of the winter snowman decorations this year. The Boyds Bears needs no explanation, since we use Beatrice and Grenville Boyd on this blog. These are almost "family."

While the above items were bargains, there's more . . . a brand new Vermont-made cheese board, retail cost $45 (my cost $4), a 50-cent book for someone special (to be announced) and a $1 watch which was $5 after a new battery was out in at a local jeweler; it runs perfectly. 

This was a fun (and very inexpensive) way to spend a Saturday morning and finding great bargains too — always a great thing!

Have you also found some wonderful flea market bargains?

Friday Funnies

A Friday Funny last month was about mis-directed water. Here's another one!

Is this how to grow a paved road — by watering it?

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

Black-Tie Event

A wedding is a happy celebration that brings family and friends together. The one we attended in NYC last month was quite the event — black tie. We put on our best duds and posed for some photos; daughter  with her dad and her date.

The wedding united Patrick's cousin and his partner.

This was a wonderful event, spending time with family, many of whom we don't see often. Patrick re-connected with many cousins (as you can see here).

Everyone is happy at a wedding. Good times like these would be treasured.

We had a wonderful time and wish  them happiness.

Grandson and granddaughter dressed up for their uncle's wedding when they visited the Dominican Republic with their father this past summer.

Easy Chickpea Salad

Ever look inside the pantry or fridge and try to come up with an accompaniment for dinner.?

Me too and last week I was looking for an easy side dish salad to serve with fish. My ingredients were garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and red and green peppers, which seemed a good fit for a salad. Here's what one found online at Epicurious with a few personal modifications. 

This is a very easy salad and the basic recipe can be modified to your personal taste. For a spicy version, add some Sriracha sauce. Try swapping out the lemon juice for lime juice and use other cheeses (feta, Asiago) instead of Parmesan, or mix in chopped fresh cilantro and chopped red onion or shallot. For a curried chickpea salad, omit the cheese and add curry powder to taste, dried currants, sliced green onions, and shredded carrots.

I substituted Asiago cheese in this recipe and used dried herbs vs. fresh.

Chickpea Salad with Lemon and Parmesan

• (1) 15 to 15-1/2-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained
• 1/2 chopped green pepper (personal add-in)
• 1/2 chopped red pepper (personal add-in)
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
• 2 TBSP chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1/3 C (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Asiago cheese for me)
• Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Combine rinsed and drained chickpeas, chopped fresh (or dried) basil and parsley, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and pressed garlic clove in medium bowl. 
2. Add grated Parmesan cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly. 

Season salad to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. The salad can be made 4 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

It was good the first night and even better a day or two later.

We Love a Parade

We love parades, any type of parade and, whenever possible, we go to see one. 

But, the one we went to last Friday in downtown Nashua was very special as it honored veterans on appropriately enough, Veterans Day.

Main Street was closed to traffic throughout the downtown area. It was perfect weather for a parade, even though the skies looked threatening, there was no rain.

There were high school marching bands ...

And other school groups.

Municipal fire and police group are part of most local parades.

It was perfect parade weather, crisp and clear, but a bit windy. The flag bearers and flag twirlers got a workout.

These marchers were my favorite parade participants.