Room With a View and a Very Warm Welcome

Pack your bags! Have we got the weekend getaway destination for you! More fun and excitement than you'll know what to do with.

First, directions:

Drive up the hill to our street. Head south until you see this sign:

Ignore the Detour and drive right on by, as you aren't going all the way thru, just part way.

If you're coming between the hours of 7:00 am and 5:00pm, keep driving until you see this sign:

(There are actually 2 signs. I just didn't get out to take a picture until after 5:00, so they'd been moved off the road already.)

This time there will not be a "Detour" sign, but the road will now be officially closed. Ignore the sign and drive around it.

You're almost there when you see this on your left:

If you are coming after 5:00 pm and before 7:00 am, look for this sign and stay to your right:

Chances are, you won't be able to see much on your left because it will be dark most of those hours. The orange pylons are your friends. Follow them unless you want to extend your stay with a visit to the local hospital (it's very good, by the way) as well as drive either a new car or a badly damaged one home from your fun weekend. Optional towing services are available, but are not covered by this package.

Depending on the actual placement of the last 2 signs, you will most likely need to drive past a couple more houses to get to your destination. We'll try and move the company cars up as close as we can to the establishment so you can fit in the driveway because this sign is sitting right out front:

Don't ignore this sign. We haven't actually seen anyone towed, but they have come around asking if we know who owns vehicles left on the street. Also, there are several signs just like this on the street. Make sure you have the right sign in front of the right destination.

Once you are here, we have a nice comfy bed waiting for you:

It's nothing fancy, but it's warm inside and has a second bed hidden away underneath. That means you can bring a friend. This gets better by the minute! We'll do our best to make the company entertaining.


In case you're looking for a quiet, alone time, there are other activities that are sure to meet your every whim. Some of the decor has been provided by the natives- made by hand and everything:

(Good job, Steven! Not bad for a 6th grader, eh?!)

When you get tired of looking at the artwork, you may feel free to turn around and take in the view out your window:

If you hurry, there will still be snow to see as well. No guarantees after tonight, though. However, since it's after 5:00 on Friday, I can guarantee the large equipment until Monday morning at 7:00. It might even serve as your complimentary wake-up call if you choose to sleep in that late.

FYI, it's a much better view than yesterday. This bad boy was right across the street from your window until this very morning:


If you're feeling very adventurous, you can go explore the canyons that are just across the street:

Unfortunately, at this time, there are no tours or other activities allowed in the canyons. They are as deep as the long arm on the backhoe. We have mountains that are much taller than the canyons are deep just a little way beyond. As I mentioned, there may even be snow on the them to look at/enjoy in person if you hurry.

Once you're all tired out, you are welcome to return and take a luxurious nap lulled either awake or asleep by the gentle rattling motions created here:

The canyons are being created right before our very eyes. The head of that large backhoe crashes delightfully on top of those posts to drive them into the ground and create the walls of the natural wonder just outside your window. What an opportunity. It is not to be missed. (The only phenomenon we've found to be better was living in NH and they had to use dynamite when redoing the road outside of that house. Quite fun!) The canyons extend a good way south from here and are slowly working their way northwards. Their creation makes this delightful getaway pretty much inaccessible from the south, so make sure you come in from the north.

All of this can be yours for the very low (right!) price of the gas it takes to get here. Everything else is included at no extra charge to you. This is a first come/first served invitation, so don't delay. Operators are standing by.

This, That, and The Other Thing

There's no real rhyme or reason to the title. That's just what came to mind. I'm also posting this now because I'm hungry for something that I don't have and am hoping that this will prove a good distraction.

So, a while ago I mentioned on Facebook that I was finally getting around to hanging curtains at our house. Last night it was suggested that I post pictures for the whole world to see. So, here we go. I am NOT, by really any standard or definition, a decorator and am most grateful for anyone with talent along those lines that help me in anyway. These curtains were made by our friend and decorating hero, Yvonne, in NH. She was, once upon a time, an interior decorator who took pity upon me when we were selling our house in Manchester. She took me shopping, tried to teach me some basic rules for decorating, and stayed up MANY nights sewing curtains for every room in our house. I'm not much of a drapes/curtain person, so they're all valences. And, I must admit, I would have loved to have our house look just like it did when we sold it for the whole 3 years we lived there. Some of the valences are made to exactly fit the windows in Manchester and I don't have windows here they fit, but the ones in the living room, kitchen, and bathroom do. I also have some that still aren't hung, but I'm working on it.

These were taken last night, because I thought the colors would be easier to see in controlled lighting. You'll see I was right if you get to the bottom.

Here's the living room. The painting between the windows was painted but Yvonne. She's a woman of many talents and very few of ours in the creativity department overlap. The walls were green when we bought the house. Luckily it still works with the furniture and curtains. I'm not really up to painting right now.

Here's the dining room. You can see Yvonne's painting better. My favorite, which you can't see, are the little red berries in the blue picture. The lamp has similar berries on it and the red chairs in the living room are the same color. Tied it all together! Also, the other painting was done by Greg's mom. I'm not sure when, but they've had it as long as I've known Greg. I like the fruit and it's a little reminder of her.

Kitchen. Yes, Yvonne, I know you hate the little magnet board, but we use it too much to take down. Also, funny story, my camera must still be set on New Hampshire time because these pictures have the next day's date on them, even though it was just after 10:00 when I took them.

Living room today. I include this only because you can see how sheer the fabric is, not because it's such a great picture.


This is the bathroom curtain. It's made out of the same fabric as the shower curtain, courtesy, again, of Yvonne. I'm such a sucker for plaid. Love it!


This one, too, had a hard time with the lighting. Oh well, I'll take others later and hopefully post better pictures at some point.

Ok, mission accomplished and I'm now late to get the boys. Still hungry for something I don't have, though. Oh well. I'll see if I can forget while I'm out of the house!