New to New Hampshire

Some random observations after living almost a month in New Hampshire:

• The weather in this neck of the woods is cray-cray right now!  Last week alone, we had 40 degree temperature swings, from the low 40s in the morning to the low 80s by the end of the school day.  My thin-blooded boys are not amused, and re-learning to wear pants is going to be a huge ordeal for us, apparently!  And the fog/mist/evaporation that happens in the mornings is impressive--whole mountains disappear, and everything looks like it's floating!
• When you live in New England and fall arrives (it's officially here, they tell me), sweaters are a big thing.  I went into TJ Maxx yesterday, and the racks of the usual suspects had all been almost entirely replaced by racks and racks and more racks of sweaters.  Loads and loads of them, though the majority were mostly shades of heathered grey, which seems like the color you would most want to avoid in the deep midwinter, but what do I know?  Not enough about sweaters, apparently!  Except for one or two little cardigans I wore in Doha and a thin layering sweater I wore while traveling, I haven't even looked at most of my sweaters in years except to move them from one box to another.  Time to bust them out, I guess!
• Groceries in NH are not as expensive as they were in Qatar (thankfully), except for bacon, which is just as expensive as it was there, for some unknown reason.  However, things aren't as cheap as they were in Utah, so I have begun to shop the sales again and try (AGAIN) to meal plan.  And I found out about a produce market in Vermont with super low overhead and great prices, which is basically a converted garage, but they have affordable peppers and nectarines, so I'm not complaining!  Between the market and my newly acquired slow cooker, I'm prepared to make affordable meals, so we won't starve or go into hock trying to buy food.
• Shopping in general is actually a bit of a challenge.  There are lots of little boutiques that sell things I would never buy, some antique markets that sell things I can't afford, a few thrift stores with the usual mish-mash of items, and then just a few stores where you go to buy everything else, such as (a not-quite-super) Walmart, Kohls, Sears (yes, about to go out of business), JCPenny (also bankrupt), K-Mart (one foot in the grave), and the aforementioned TJ Maxx.  A shopping mecca this is not.  There is a bigger selection of stores in Concord, an hour away, as well as the nearest outlet mall in Tilton, also about a hour distant, but so far I haven't wanted to trek down there, so I have made do with what we have locally and supplemented with Amazon.  The UPS guy and I are very well acquainted by now!
• The New Hampshire state motto, Live Free or Die, is taken quite seriously here.  There are very few laws.  For example, it is completely legal to shoot a turkey on someone else's yard/land and you can tap any maple tree you want on public land for your own use.  And yes, we have laws here about shooting turkeys and tapping maple trees.
• New Englanders loves their festivals!  Every weekend now there is one we could visit, each just as fun as the last!  Two weekends ago we went camping (ooh, sooooo cold in the tent!) in Vermont and then stopped by a flea market we saw on our way out of town.  Later that day, we headed to the King Arthur Flour festival, also in Vermont, and sampled gingerbread, smoked raspberry maple jam, homemade caramel, lemon bars, chewy granola, and local chimichurri and cheese and pesto and truffles and maple cotton candy and cornbread, and then the boys got to make their own flatbread and decorate maple leaf cookies.  It was delicious and free and fun, just like every festival we've been to so far.  Last weekend, we went to a Shaker family festival (not sure the Shakers would have approved) but we could have gone to a family fun festival on the local ski hill, Whaleback Mountain.  The choices are endless!  And they tell me the frivolity continues through the winter months, so there is more to come!
• Another crazy thing about living in New Hampshire, especially in comparison to living in ultra modern Doha, is how OLD everything is.  I walked out of the town library today (formed in 1802) and realized that almost every building I could see was at least 200 years old and some older than that.  And the same is true where ever we roam: Hanover, the next town over, was established in 1761.  1761?!   It boggles the mind!
• And last but not least...I couldn't figure out how to delete this extra bullet point, so look what's down below: photos!
  
  

  

  The camp we went to had new-fangled handcarts to help us take our gear to the campsites.

  

  Our newest tent, piled with all sorts of gear whilst I try to create some order! 

  

  The family at sunset!

  

  There were also sheep and border collies along with the goats.

  

  Pony rides!

  

  We got to make fairy crowns!

  

  You can see the Shaker grand hall behind us as we shiver in the afternoon chill!

  

  And fairy houses!

  

  Making apple cider with an aged cider press (eating apple cider ice cream they
  had churned themselves at the previous station). 

  

  E hiding behind the mask he made. 

  
  

Settling but not settled

We've had a lot of firsts this past week: the husband's first day of work, the boys' first physicals in three years (still in good health, thankfully), the first day of school, the boys' first non-bunk beds (at least in our own home), new 20" bikes for both boys, our first town farmers' market, the husband's first trek into the trails behind our house, my first forays into the local grocery shopping and thrifting scenes, signing up for our first ski and snowboard lessons (when in New England, after all), our first day with our new church congregation, and on and on.  It's been a whirlwind: people keep asking us if we are getting settled in, and I always feel like the answer is no because we keep doing new things.  However, by that measure, we may not be "settled in" for quite awhile, because we seem to encounter something new to do almost every day.  Which is good, of course, though a bit exhausting.  

The unpacking continues, relentlessly, unfortunately, and I am losing some of my motivation to finish it, because so soon we will have to pack everything up again and move to a more permanent place, but that strategy, not unpacking, really only works for a few things, so it's not really a good solution to my lack of enthusiasm.  I am also dressing up our unfinished basement for the boys.  So far, with just the addition of a big square of carpet, a shelf with bins of their toys, their school desks, and a giant ottoman that is far too big for our current bedroom or the living room, the basement is their favorite place, so I want to keep the fun going by adding some simple fabric panels to separate the play area from the storage area and use some existing shelves to separate the laundry area as well.  The husband has also decided that since we had to get cable to get the internet and the x-box has been in storage since we moved back to the States, he is going to set up a TV down there as well, for gaming and watching sports, which means we will be getting our first television since we got rid of ours after we were first married.  So it's basically going to become the playroom mini man-cave of everyone's dreams down there pretty soon...plus laundry!

Which means, yes, we are settling in, slowly but surely, but we are still far from settled.  I did have a burst of affection for my new home the other day, while I was in a neighboring town exploring an architecture salvage store, a couple of thrift stores, and a clothing store featuring local, indy designers on my way to an awesomely cheap veggie market.  The sun was shining, but the weather was pleasantly cool, the stores were intriguing and filled with all sorts of colorful people and bizarre items, I kept having the most random but entertaining conversations with chatty folks, and I found some great deals along the way.  This really is my kind of place: a quirk around every corner!

Bike #1, a thrift store find!

Bike #2, a new purchase, with lots of bells and whistles and seven gears.

First day of school!

Sampling basil jelly and pickled fiddlehead ferns at the farmers' market.

Our first signs of fall!

The 400 acre wilderness behind our house! 

Putting together the new beds, a joint project.