Another Year at the Fair...

Last night we packed up our booth at the 85th Annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair at Mt. Sunapee Resort in NH. Despite the heat and humidity and occasional torrential rain shower, we sold lots of pots.

Our friends David Ernster and Alicia Bergeron, were kind enough to offer us lodging for the duration of the event. Their home is a nice respite after a busy day of interacting with people. They have a deck with a beautiful view and this very cool canopy of hops growing over it and up to the roof of their home.

Dave is an awesome potter. We have collected quite a few of his pieces over the years.

This year I picked out this "birch tree" mug from his booth at the fair. The birch design will remind me of my New Hampshire roots.

When the trailer was packed we headed to Wolfeboro to spend a few days with my sister and visit my Dad. We stopped on the way to pick up food for dinner and found lobster for $4.99 a pound. We bought two, along with the ingredients for a quick pasta dish. Way better than a frozen pizza! I sure do miss affordable lobster. Our plan is to buy a few more, the day before we leave, to cook and carry home in a cooler. Tonight we are taking my Dad to his favorite seafood restaurant on Dover Point. We are going to indulge while we can!

Seafood Heaven

Jeff and I took full advantage of being in New England and enjoyed lots of fresh seafood. North Carolina has a beautiful long coastline, but we live three hours away from it. While the seafood is delicious, it is different from what I grew up with.

We had two lobster feasts, one on Bow Lake with our friend Roni, the other in New Haven, CT with Danielle and Jason. The Connecticut feast included steamed clams and crab cakes. The lobster this year was just $5.99 a pound! We cooked a couple extras to take home with us.

It was hot and humid in Connecticut. It felt like home, minus central A/C! No A/C meant dinner on the waterfront. Shell & Bones was the choice, cool inside with a beautiful view. 

More seafood was consumed, this time it was a filet topped with crab, bernaise sauce, and other delectable things. Fancy cocktails and great bottle of wine rounded out the meal... don't worry, we take advantage of Uber when going out on the town. It's was fun to go to a swanky place, something Jeff and I rarely do. Thank you Danielle and Jason for a wonderful treat!

It seems to have become a tradition that we visit a winery when we get together with the family. This year it was Chamard Vineyard in Clinton, CT.

The grounds were quite lovely, as well as the tasting room. The service was "meh." The server doing the tasting seemed rather uninterested in talking about the wines. Danielle's observation from her first visit there 4 years ago to now, is that it has become more of a wine bar. We probably would have been better off ordering a bottle of wine at one of the tables.

I fell in love with this fire pit! During the summer months they have music outside. This thing must look pretty cool with a glowing fire inside of it. There were a few smaller versions of it scattered around the patio.

The next morning Danielle and I went to Rocco's Italian bakery, walking distance from her home, and picked up some yummy breakfast pastries and a couple of mini stuffed breads for the ride home. We hit the road at 11:00 am and were home by 11:00 pm. A long drive, but it was smooth sailing with few delays. 

What I did on my summer vacation...

I warned you with the title, click away now if vacation pictures will bore you to tears!

A week ago we left my sister's home and traveled south to New Haven, CT to spend time with Danielle and Jay. Jeff's friend Louise Harter lives in nearby Bethany, and on Sunday the four of us took a drive to visit her home and  pottery studio. I thought I took a couple photos of her wood kiln but when I got home I only had the bag wall! User error, still trying to get used to the camera phone. If you would like to see the whole kiln, there are photos on Robert Compton's website, just click here. Louise makes great wood fired pots and of course we brought home a new cup. We ended the day with dinner and a burlesque show at the 9th Note in downtown New Haven.  Louise and a friend met us there. The show was Danielle's idea and we all jumped on it. It was campy and fun with great costumes and pasties. The restaurant had a speak easy vibe and the food was tasty.

We were having fabulous weather so on Monday we went to Stony Creek in Branford, CT for a cruise of the Thimble Islands.

The Thimble Islands are close to shore and most are very small, only large enough to accommodate one home. There are a couple of larger islands with a cluster of homes. The homes vary from simple structures on stilts, to very large mansions.

The perfect ending to a day at seaside in New England must include lobster!

Our feast included the lobster along with, mussels, steamers, and crab cakes. We served it up with corn on the cob and a Caprese salad. The four of us were in a food coma after the meal and waddled off to bed quite early.
Tuesday it was time to hit the road. It is so hard to say good bye to Danielle and Jay, knowing it will be many months before we see each other again. Jeff and I took our time getting home, stopping in Berkeley Springs, WV for the night. I will spare you those details...
until tomorrow.

Time to chill...

I think this is the longest, blogger, social media, break that I have ever taken. It sort of felt good to disconnect. The League of NH Craftsmen's Fair is over for us, but still goes on until next Sunday. Today was a day to chill. I visited my Mom and Dad in Dover, NH and enjoyed a relaxing evening with our friend and hostess, Roni Brown, at her lovely home on Bow Lake.

Before dinner, Roni and I decided to go for a quick cruise around the lake on her boat. It was the perfect way to unwind after four days of smiling at people and talking up the pottery.

We always look forward to great lobster prices in August... $3.99 a pound!!!

We had a feast tonight after our boat excursion. Lobster, corn, potato salad, and tossed salad, enjoyed with a bottle of white wine at Roni's dining room table, overlooking the lake.

I will blog more about the fair, once I have decompressed. Right now it's family and friends time!

The long ride home

I had great time in NH, but it sure feels good to be home in Seagrove. We took two days to drive home and took a slight detour to pick up Jeff's wood fired tray that was in Strictly Functional. It was a nice change of scenery, I had never been to Lancaster, PA before. It was really cool to see the Amish driving their horse and buggies alongside all cars on the road.

This is the outside of the Lancaster Creative Factory, where Strictly Functional was on exhibit. Jeff and I were drooling over the great work spaces within this facility!

One of the plusses for this road trip was that gas prices were down from our last trip in August...

Less than $3.00 a gallon in Virginia!!!!

The other great deal was that lobster was only $4.99 a pound in NH, so we HAD to pack some in a cooler and bring them home.

Our potter friend and neighbor, Phil Pollet joined us for the feast. A great time was had by all!

Now it's time to get back to pottery. The Celebration of Seagrove Potters is one week away and we need to get one last firing in.

a trip to New England isn't complete without...

LOBSTAH!!!!!!!

Danielle and Jay cooked up a fabulous meal that also included a very spicy and tasty shrimp fra diavolo...

I ate so much i would have liked to lay down on the floor like Bizzy when we were all done! 

tonight is our last night in NH. Jeff and I are heading to Portsmouth for "Old School" jam night at the Dolphin Striker... Jeff brought his harps to play along with his old friends and it should be a rockin' good time!