It's Fall

Yes, it's true. The colder weather is upon us, the leaves have started to change and Cood is back on his warm, snuggy bed. I know the official day is not quite here yet, but this is about as official as it gets.....

It's a tough life...

More of Monhegan...

for the first post in this series, please see below....

Here we are in Cathedral Pines....

Another stunning view...

I couldn't help but strike the "tree pose" ... not so easy with the hiking boots!

My mom and Ryan.

Taking a water break and a stop to see the view.

Handsome husband!

Thanks for a great trip, mom and dad! We had a fantastic time!

Monhegan Island

Ryan and I usually spend Labor Day weekend in Ogunquit, Maine celebrating my birthday. This year, my parents invited us up to Monhegan Island for a change of pace. Monhegan is a small island, approximately 3 x 5 miles and is about 12 miles off the coast of the Thomaston area. There is a limited water and electricity supply and the small population is largely made up of artists. Every time we turned around, we saw an artist painting up a landscape and the few shops were stocked of local art ...very cool. We also hiked both days on trails that circled the edge of the island overlooking some magnificent ocean views. Dinner at the Island Inn, where we stayed, consisted of haddock, cod and crab cakes that were delicious! Words can do little to express the beauty of the island so I will let the photos do the talking from here on:

My dad on the ferry over to Monhegan.The bulletin board - all things Monhegan. Yoga? Check. Menus for local restaurants (all 4 of them). Check. House or apartment rental? Check. Hiking trail maps? Check.
My dad and I at the local pizza/ice cream/sandwich/wine and beer stop called The Novelty. We had some gosh darn good Monhegan Summer Garden Vegetable Rustic Pizza. Yum! In the second photo, you can see the local advertisement for said establishment that got us chuckling!


This is the view from the deck of the Island Inn. Notice the 2 seagulls hanging out on the rocks. Damn those seagulls have it good out there. I did actually utter the words. "I think I would like to be a seagull in my next life." Ryan wholeheartedly agreed.

The most amazing views came from our hikes along the coast of the island like the one above and below. I will post another blog full of those photos next.

Monster in a box!

Coodie loves boxes and he loves it when we tease him in there. Here is a new Cood video. If you listen closely, you can hear the "purrrrr".

A Little Culture in Manchester

Ryan and I were at a wedding recently and sat next to a policeman of a neighboring town to Manchester (where we live). We asked him what he thought of our little city?
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His reply was, "Honestly, it's a bit of a cess pool."

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Ohhhhh-kay. It's not that we didn't know there is some unseemly activity going on, especially since we used to live downtown where we personally witnessed many "victimless" crimes in the parking lot of our old apartment building. Those of you who live in or near bigger cities may think I am crazy - just a cute little city in New England, right? Well, we lived only a few short blocks from where a police officer was shot and killed and this year a 17 year old opened fire on a crowd at the July 4th Fireworks..... So, I suppose the officer had a point.

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So, anyhoo, we don't tend to venture out after dark too often. (But, great job planting all those trees and otherwise "beautifying" Manchester, Mayor! How about the crime?)

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I digress. This post is actually about the good things in our city. I have now lived here for 7 years and have never visited our local art museum. I'm not sure why.... I love art museums and have visited MOMA and the Met several times. This past weekend Ryan suggested we head over to the Currier Museum of Art... just 5 minutes away from where we live. I thought it was a fantastic idea!

This is the central lobby area with a beautiful mosaic floor. We were not allowed to use the flash so please forgive any blurriness.

Here is a close up of the mosaic floor.

A Picasso.We love this...can you see the "K" for Kendra and the "R" for Ryan? This is at the entrance to the museum.

There were many more pieces of furniture, paintings, sculptures, etc. that we did not show here. We especially enjoyed the paintings of local areas in NH dating back to the 1700's.

We also learned that the museum offers tours of a local home called the "Zimmerman House". This house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is currently the only home in New England he designed that is open to the public. Apparently, Dr. Zimmerman was a local looking for a unique abode and the acclaimed architect designed this "Usopian" home for he and his wife. They lived there for 36 years, had no children and bequeathed the home to the museum upon Mrs. Zimmerman's passing. That is our next adventure...I am very excited to see the home and certainly have a renewed sense of our community!

Coldplay Concert Videos 8.3.09

I finally got around to editing some of the videos from the concert Monday night. Sorry if some of it is shaky but we were pretty excited and trying to contain ourselves from dancing while holding the camera. But, we still got some pretty cool stuff. The first is the intro Life In Technicolor:

The next video is Yellow. Just a short snippet, but I am posting just to give you an idea of how cool it was. These big yellow balls appeared out of nowhere (seemingly) and bounced around for the whole song.

And finally, this fan's favorite Lovers in Japan. Such an amazing and FUN song on the iPod and especially live. The butterflies were pretty cool as well....

Coldplay 8.3.09

Ryan and I started dating back in '02/'03 and he turned me on to the band, Coldplay. I remember going out to buy Parachutes and a A Rush of Blood to the Head (the first 2 albums) because this was my new boyfriend's favorite band. I have always loved music, particularly U2, which is why Ryan asked me to marry him at a U2 concert. So, I remember buying these albums and really hoping I liked them because I thought it might tell me something about Ryan. Well, I LOVED them - and since that time they have been compared to the likes of U2 which makes sense but they are certainly their own band, their own genre. No one REALLY sounds like them if you take the time to listen and hear the lyrics.
The countdown is on! Ryan and I before the show, we were pretty excited.
VIP seats for the first time. Worth every penny. Below is a photo as the show starts. It's a go! Chris Martin, an amazing lead singer. I have never seen someone with that much energy. Amazing.


"Look at the stars...Look how they shine for you....." And, it's Yellow.

If you really like a band or singer, I truly believe it is so worth it to see them live. Music is the ultimate food for the soul. Needless to say, we had an amazing time and will find a way to see them each and every time they come to the area. Videos to follow...