The TrUtH According to Lisa

Nearfest October 2008--BARS Club

Each year our ham radio club, BARS, attends the bi-annual Nearfest. This is essentially a swap meet and a reason for the guys to hang out and to buy and sell radio gear. We always have a Friday night party, sometimes with guitar music, or a jam session. 

This year the weather was stellar. Wally thought that would mean an amazing turnout. I said, I thought the economy might have an impact, or the weather might have people out leaf-peeping. We used to camp out with everyone else, but that was not very comfortable due to cold and rain and bathrooms that were too far away. These days we say at the Steven Clay House in Candia...only a few miles away. It is amazing. The owners could not be nicer. We always enjoy talking to them over breakfast. They do a very nice job with their B&B and the breakfast in the morning. This year I booked very late (Monday) and I was lucky to get a room. While we were always the only ones there, this year we did not get the suite and we had to share a bathroom (I do not care for that usually).

This fall in New England will be one for the books. The color is almost peak and in the 11 years I have been here I never saw so much red. I will try to get out tomorrow for more pictures but I took a few in Deerfield on the way out today. Wally was not feeling too well so we left early.

The sun was so bright, it has washed out the color somewhat. This morning it was breathtaking. These colors against the blue sky just take my breath away.

Most times, when we attend Nearfest, we leave very early in the morning and help with set up and I do the food for whoever shows up. This year, with two job changes for me, I have missed that twice. We both left after work, fought horrible traffic out of the Boston area and north. It was by far the worst traffic I ever encountered going there. We both thought it was due to the amazing weather, and the three day weekend a lot of folks have here in New England for Columbus Day. We finally were able to find the Phillies game on the radio and listened to some of it on the way.

We arrived after dark, and I was happy to have some wine and relax. It has been a stressful week for me. It was good to spend the evening with dear friends and we sat around, okay, so it was not really a campfire, but it was a propane heater. Thanks Jim!!! It always takes the chill out of the air and makes evenings at Nearfest not too bad.

Due to the small turnout, it was only Mike on the guitar. He did a number of songs. Tom Petty seems to be a group favorite and he did the usual. (Steve we always miss you at times like this!

So, the wine and friends kept flowing. Here is Peter holding up one bottle. I took these two pictures with my cell phone as it was too dark to find my camera last night and I was beat.

Eric and Richy are two favorite friends. Gosh, all these guys are special. Eric and Richy are always very goofy with me on the repeater sending me kisses and saying Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeesaaaaa! As if they are happy when they hear me come on. Wally took a picture of all three of us. It was a fun evening. 

Richy left his daughter in our care and took off to hang out with the AMer crowd. Holly has become a regular attendee along with her father. She is such a sweet little girl and full of sparkle. 

So Mike played the guitar, and Holly was getting tired. Mike helped get her settled down in her dad's truck for the night.

We all sat, and talked, and relaxed and enjoyed our time together. We missed many of the regulars. I would say turnout in our own group was about 50 percent of normal. 

Today, I took a picture of our tent. Some of the guys sell stuff, but even that was a bit light this year

Mike and Nan turned up in nearly matching kilts. I had to get a picture of that. 

Ed was there. Ed is a favorite of all of ours and part of why I like going to Nearfest is being able to chat with him for a bit. We nearly rented his house this year, when lucky for him a buyer came through in the Nth hour.

Toward the end of the evening out Mike with a cigar. I told him I was going to sent this picture to his mom! 

I guess what ties this group together, besides a passion for radio, is our passion for a good time, a sense of humor, and intellectual and sometimes ridiculous conversations. These folks have been our family here in New England since none of our family lives nearby. It is nice when a hobby brings such great friends into our lives...

This picture is of Peter and Mike. Another great party in New Hampshire.

Fall tradition, trip to Honey Pot Hills Farm...

It is nice to have tradition, even some you make up like our annual trip or two to Honey Pot Hills Farm. This year was no exception. Nothing usually stands between us and our annual caramel apple! I like the days when we go and there are almost no people, today was not one of those days. A large company, EMC, was having an event nearby and totally clogged the already busy country roads in Stow, MA. I wish there was a way to know if events were scheduled like that, so we would know to wait, but considering the traffic we got into the close-up driveway and easily parked our car. 

We go to see the farm, and the pumpkins, but mostly we go for the caramel apples. They are so fresh and wonderful, that they are well worth the trip.

This is a great place for families. Last year we went with Jen and Griffin and he had his picture taken with the pumpkins. There are animals and a maze and apples you can pick off the tree if you like, or you can just buy them already picked. To enjoy our pictures from today, please click HERE.

Sunday mornings and Belgium Waffles...mmm

Last week, at our housewarming party, our friend Brian gave us a Belgium Waffle maker. It was a perfect gift, as my old waffle maker had bit the dust before the move. I had almost bought one a few times as Sunday mornings I usually do a really nice breakfast. Most of the time it is eggs and bacon or omelets. Sometimes puffy apple pancakes with fresh sauteed caramel apples. We love pancakes and waffles and I go through the trouble of making it all from scratch. It really does not take long and the end result is so yummy. 

Today, I decided to de-virginate (likely a Brian term--did I get it right B?) the new waffle machine. To see my recipe and to see that it is one of those styles that flips over, click this link.

What I did not know, was that Belgium waffles are supposed to have yeast in them and the recipe has to sit for an hour, so I sent Wally off to take some of his pictures and I am here sipping Italian roast coffee and stirring the batter every 15 minutes until it is time to bake. Besides yeast, the batter is rich. It contains a stick of butter, plus two tablespoons of oil, sugar, three eggs, and the usual stuff waffles are made from. The egg whites are stiffly beaten and folded into the batter...so the recipe is not a simple one, but not hard...only time consuming. 

We had hoped to get out of here early today, as today is also our trip to Honey Pot Hill Farm in Stow, MA. Their website appears down, so use this one for now. More on that in a later blog this evening.

Ah, the first stir of the dough and the yeast is behaving nicely. I have some maple syrup I will heat up, and with a pat of butter and a good strong cup of coffee what else do I need? I love Sunday mornings and the first indications of fall are here. I can't wait to take some lovely pictures of fall foliage and pumpkins. I love this time of year in New England. It is what New England does best. You know fall is here as the spent summer flowers are replaced with mums, people put out pumpkins and dried corn stalks...in CA no one decorated for the season, as there were none. Here, seasons are celebrated and the passage of time is punctuated with a pumpkin in the fall.