We went on a lunch date today to Bertucci’s, an Italian restaurant in Nashua, that has an excellent array of food. A large bowl of salad is brought to the table. It has Black olives (my favorite), small plum tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and cucumbers, a wonderful dressing, and lots of parmesan cheese intermixed. That, and hard rolls, hot from the oven, are a nice start to the meal.
For an entreé, I selected brick-oven baked, “Lasagna Rustica.” It was delicious, if not a little too well done around the outer edges. That was ok. I only had room for about 1/2 of it, anyhow. Jim had a pasta and chicken dish that I could pronounce, in seeing it, but do not recall now. We both chose Raspberry Ice Tea as a beverage. Everything was exceptional. this was an unusual splurge for us. Every now and then, we do something special for absolutely no reason at all, except, in this case, we were on an errand in the city.
The restaurant was full of people, as were other places we visited. That has been the rule of thumb. People are in lines to fill up at gasoline stations, and customers are shopping and spending. In my own business, I’ve seen a sudden upsurge of orders from stores who want to carry my products (books on CD) and are ordering them by the dozens. Everyone keeps talking about the recession that supposedly, we are undergoing, but I have yet to see the results of that, at least not in New Hampshire.
The hardest hit part of the nation seems to be Detroit. Perhaps it is the diversity of the products made in New Hampshire that is making the difference. First of all, we are a tourist state, in any season! Right now, the skiers are here, but soon, there will be the beach goers, the mountain hikers, the people who make shopping a second career, and those who love to visit museums.
The state of New Hampshire has no sales tax (shhhhh), we are tolerant of gays (apparently, since the first gay Bishop in the Episcopal faith is from NH), and we sell unique products such as Maple Syrup. We have priceless indoor and outdoor museums, the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord, NH, The Currier Art Museum in Manchester, and the SEE Museum (for Children and kids-at-heart) in Manchester. We have places to go bike touring, fishing, and we even have places where you can “hug a tree,” if you’re so inclined, as well as lots of opportunities for bird watching and outdoor photography.
If I didn’t already live here, I’d come for a visit! However, since I do live here, I hardly ever want to leave. Occasionally, I’ll force myself into foreign territory (Massachusetts), or enjoy myself by heading north to Vermont and Maine! Yes, I prefer life in the slow lane. Yes, I like turtles.
Now, that I’ve advertised my state in an unabashed manner, and stated my preferences, in the same way, I will leave you to ponder when your trip to New Hampshire will be. No, we are not in a recession in NH, and we’d like to keep it that way! New Hampshire history appears in some way or another in all of my e-books. What are you waiting for – a written invitation? Well, now you have it. 
My picks for best New Hampshire quilt shops are “Quilted Threads” in Henniker (“the only Henniker on earth” – west of Concord, NH), and “Keepsake Quilting” in Centre Harbor (north of Concord, NH).
Best,
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
Tags: New Hampshire
