July 17, 18, 19: Holderness and back to S. Hamilton
Dear Friends and Relatives,
I haven’t written in three days, but when one is in thrall and communion with nature, it seems more fitting to honor nature than to take up the pen (or in this case, the stylus).
On Wednesday, July 7, Marthe and I traveled north of Massachusetts to the state of New Hampshire in order to pay our yearly visit to Lake Squam and our dear friend Hilde, who hiked in Norway with me in 2004 with her husband, who has since passed away. She, meanwhile, divides half her year in Florida, and the other half in a beautiful house she and her husband built on Lake Squam. As she is of Norwegian ancestry, her house is decorated in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Finnish style. Smooth, unobstructed lines characterize the house; it is definitely iconoclastic and hearkens back to the 1960s and 1970s.
Hilde’s friend, Diane Maloomian, a painter who lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, joined us for the two days we were there. Immediately, we transferred all the dishes, utensils, and china to what Hilde calls her “breakfast nook”—a small, narrow pier furnished with a round table and four chairs. There we had a grand breakfast/brunch and sat talking for a good 2 hours before re-exploring some of the sites of the town of Holderness, the town in which Lake Squam is located. In the middle of town is a lovely park, and one of the trees is dedicated to the memory of Hilde’s husband Dick.
We also stopped at the Ladder Thrift Shop in nearby Plymouth and a New Hampshire crafts center called Plumb, in nearby Ashland. Not only were locally manufactured goods on view, but also an amazing amount of spectacular Japanese-made jackets. At $50 a jacket, I could not pass up a black/white. It is a spectacularly elegant, reasonably-priced jacket that will be a pleasure to wear.
That evening, Diane, Hilde and Marthe swam in the lake while I read on the pier; Marthe also kayaked. We had a festive meal including a mixed salad, a pastry stuffed with ham and cheese, and for dessert locally grown raspberries on angel food cake, topped with vanilla ice cream. The angel food cake was topped with four candles, and we celebrated our four birthdays—two in September, one in October, and one in November. We had Prosecco as well—of utmost importance in the toasts that followed!
The next morning (July 18) we woke to the sound of loons, which reappeared in the afternoon in various locations on the lake. We had breakfast and then drove to a town called Center Harbor and went to a local garden venue where you can pick your own seasonal crops and then pay for them. Raspberries are in season, so we picked an enormous amount of them. The house associated with the garden was most interesting and the first geodesic house I had ever seen in New England—I thought those were the purview of San Francisco! We also stopped by a Holderness deli afterwards, as Marthe and I were treating for dinner at home that evening, and picked up chicken salad, cole slaw, pasta tossed with sesame oil and seeds, and the slender beans called haricots verts. After more swimming and kayaking on the lake, we had dinner on the small pier, and again, our conversations ranged the gamut of fascinating subjects.
Again, this morning (July 19) we saw loons and heard their plaintive, eerie cries. Later on in the day, Marthe gave me a small stuffed loon, and when you press it, a most naturalistic and accurate cry issues forth. Wonderful gift! A group of women in a slender rowboat floated by and greeted us. After breakfast, Marthe and I packed the car and started on our 2-hour journey back to S. Hamilton. Soon after we returned, Sarah (Marthe’s daughter) came by with daughter Nora (now 4) for a stay with Marthe. Since her arrival, Marthe and I walked with her to the library, and I read to her for a long while. Lunch followed. She is down for the obligatory nap now, as is Marthe, while I finish this missive. Josh will show up after 5:00 p.m., and we will probably go out to dinner upon his return.
Facebook pictures follow. It is not particularly cool here (in the low 90s), but being in a more pastoral setting is definitely favorable. Greetings from Marthe (to those who know her), and best wishes for the rest of the week. As ever, Sylvia
I haven’t written in three days, but when one is in thrall and communion with nature, it seems more fitting to honor nature than to take up the pen (or in this case, the stylus).
On Wednesday, July 7, Marthe and I traveled north of Massachusetts to the state of New Hampshire in order to pay our yearly visit to Lake Squam and our dear friend Hilde, who hiked in Norway with me in 2004 with her husband, who has since passed away. She, meanwhile, divides half her year in Florida, and the other half in a beautiful house she and her husband built on Lake Squam. As she is of Norwegian ancestry, her house is decorated in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, and Finnish style. Smooth, unobstructed lines characterize the house; it is definitely iconoclastic and hearkens back to the 1960s and 1970s.
Hilde’s friend, Diane Maloomian, a painter who lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, joined us for the two days we were there. Immediately, we transferred all the dishes, utensils, and china to what Hilde calls her “breakfast nook”—a small, narrow pier furnished with a round table and four chairs. There we had a grand breakfast/brunch and sat talking for a good 2 hours before re-exploring some of the sites of the town of Holderness, the town in which Lake Squam is located. In the middle of town is a lovely park, and one of the trees is dedicated to the memory of Hilde’s husband Dick.
We also stopped at the Ladder Thrift Shop in nearby Plymouth and a New Hampshire crafts center called Plumb, in nearby Ashland. Not only were locally manufactured goods on view, but also an amazing amount of spectacular Japanese-made jackets. At $50 a jacket, I could not pass up a black/white. It is a spectacularly elegant, reasonably-priced jacket that will be a pleasure to wear.
That evening, Diane, Hilde and Marthe swam in the lake while I read on the pier; Marthe also kayaked. We had a festive meal including a mixed salad, a pastry stuffed with ham and cheese, and for dessert locally grown raspberries on angel food cake, topped with vanilla ice cream. The angel food cake was topped with four candles, and we celebrated our four birthdays—two in September, one in October, and one in November. We had Prosecco as well—of utmost importance in the toasts that followed!
The next morning (July 18) we woke to the sound of loons, which reappeared in the afternoon in various locations on the lake. We had breakfast and then drove to a town called Center Harbor and went to a local garden venue where you can pick your own seasonal crops and then pay for them. Raspberries are in season, so we picked an enormous amount of them. The house associated with the garden was most interesting and the first geodesic house I had ever seen in New England—I thought those were the purview of San Francisco! We also stopped by a Holderness deli afterwards, as Marthe and I were treating for dinner at home that evening, and picked up chicken salad, cole slaw, pasta tossed with sesame oil and seeds, and the slender beans called haricots verts. After more swimming and kayaking on the lake, we had dinner on the small pier, and again, our conversations ranged the gamut of fascinating subjects.
Again, this morning (July 19) we saw loons and heard their plaintive, eerie cries. Later on in the day, Marthe gave me a small stuffed loon, and when you press it, a most naturalistic and accurate cry issues forth. Wonderful gift! A group of women in a slender rowboat floated by and greeted us. After breakfast, Marthe and I packed the car and started on our 2-hour journey back to S. Hamilton. Soon after we returned, Sarah (Marthe’s daughter) came by with daughter Nora (now 4) for a stay with Marthe. Since her arrival, Marthe and I walked with her to the library, and I read to her for a long while. Lunch followed. She is down for the obligatory nap now, as is Marthe, while I finish this missive. Josh will show up after 5:00 p.m., and we will probably go out to dinner upon his return.
Facebook pictures follow. It is not particularly cool here (in the low 90s), but being in a more pastoral setting is definitely favorable. Greetings from Marthe (to those who know her), and best wishes for the rest of the week. As ever, Sylvia
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