The lake is still frozen!! It is the end of March and the few wonderful days during St. Patrick's day made me think, "Spring", well I was wrong...

Another snow storm is heading our way for Friday, April 1, I am thinking maybe the weather channel is pulling our leg for April Fool's Day!!

We celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, two weeks late but we went to Providence RI. We love Providence, we stayed at the Providence Biltmore and were in a Jr. Suite, it was and alwasy worth having a larger room. We drove down on Saturday night, we went to Union Station Brewery but the beer was horrible, so we ended up eating at McCormick and Schmidts in the hotel. On Sunday, we each had a massage at the Spa at the Biltmore, such a wonderful way to start the day, then we went to Uno's for lunch (Stephen's favorite) especially since he is from Illnois, and loves deep dish pizza, then we went and saw "Sucker Punch" so not worth the $24 for Imax, feel cheated by the trailers..

That evening we really celebrated at the "Capital Grille" which was our main point of coming to Providence. The night after our wedding we went there for dinner and were treated so wonderful over the 6 years, we have tried other Capital Grille's there are 42 in total according to the wonderful Tim (bartender) who was just perfect to us. We have only been to 7 so we have more to try, but Providence holds a special place in our hearts. They did not disappoint from Tim when we started in the bar, to London our waiter even Steve the manager came over to check on us. Stephen ( husband) did not love his meal, mine was perfect, and the vegetables were overcooked, but it didn't matter we had an incredible evening and will definately go back. This was our first time back since we got married.

On Monday we went up to Norton, MA for work, but we lounged in our hotel room until 11am exactly and then checked out, it was so worth it..

This is a picture of Kimberly Cates ( Left), David Cates and his Daughter Jamie. On October 4, 2009, Kimberly and her daughter were attacked inside their home by Stephen Spader and Christopher Gribble.

Christopher Gribble is on trail right now, and what upsets me the most is he is trying to plead insanity at the time of the attack, but when he was apprehended by the Police within 24 hours, he for the next 7.5 hours would not shut up, he went on and on about the murder.

He made a comment, he has always wanted to committ murder, and that was always part of the plan when they invaded the "Cates house". So why the turn around to "insanity". This case has upset me so much in the last 2 years, I have lived here in NH.

Home invasion cases scare me so much, the case in CT, which I have written about too, all your feeling of safety in your home go out the window when you read and hear about these terrible cases.

Here is a case that I loved:

On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. the moon will be at perigee, marking its closest pass to the Earth in 2011: a mere 221,565 miles away. Just 50 minutes earlier, the moon will have been officially full. It is a rare combination that happens only once every 20 years or so.
The last time we saw a moon this large was way back in March of 1993. If you miss it this year, you will have to wait until the year 2029 to see it again!

Below is a review in the New London Day on the Flood Tide Restaurant in Mystic. I admit I have a huge soft spot for the Flood Tide. It was heart breaking to me to watch the show last week, and see everything Jody Dyer worked for be put under a microscope. I fell in love with it back in July 1990 when I first walked in for a job interview. I have some great friends I met there, I fell in love there, had breakups, breakdowns and so much fun.

At one time, on Saturday nights we had to build the "buffet" for Sunday brunch which was always a chore, we made it into a game, and at the end of certain time period we would have a party and someone would be a "Buffet Queen". On Thanksgiving one year, our GM brought in sandwiches and snacks for everyone to keep us up all day, and then at the end we would put all the tables together and have "Thanksgiving Dinner" as a family.. Because that is what we all were, it was a magical time for me, and I will always cherish it. I am glad it is making a come back, it deserves it..

New potential at the Flood Tide restaurantBy Katie Warchut
The Flood Tide restaurant seemed a natural choice for the Food Network's show "Restaurant: Impossible." Its prime location - part of an inn on a Mystic hilltop overlooking the water - and the culinary accolades it once received were proof that, despite its decline, it could flourish once again.

If you watched the episode last week, the makeover came off as a great success. But on a recent trip there, we felt a little like we were still watching the show, rooting for the staff to turn things around.On our visit, we noticed the new sign at the entrance that was featured on the show: The Wood Grill at Flood Tide, emblazoned on a boat. Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine's idea was to convince locals that the new Flood Tide was not the same as the one that had lost its luster. But the new name seems to have been mostly abandoned, since it's nowhere on the restaurant's website.We sat in the lower dining room, which was untouched by Irvine and his team.

But the main-level dining room, featuring the exhibition kitchen, got some much-needed color when the dark mohagany woodwork was painted mustard and coral red. A few new additions to the décor - a large fish skeleton sculpture and blackboards with boat sketches - were also good modern touches, but it leaves the place stuck in limbo. The old carpets, white tablecloths, brass railings, leather chairs and piano playing are relics that just don't match.

The show shocked its audience by detailing a dirty kitchen but showed the staff cleaning it up, so we decided to have some faith that they learned their lesson and kept it that way.The dinner crowd on a Friday night was mostly older, choosing between new selections inspired by Irvine and a fixed price menu of more traditional dishes. We went with the new menu, which focuses on the restaurant's wood burning grill. Irvine got rid of the dishes made tableside, such as Caesar salad and chateaubriand, dismissing them as dated and time-consuming.Our appetizers were not as hot as they should have been, but the flavors stood out. The blue crab fritters ($9) were soft and doughy, with crab, sweet corn, scallions and banana peppers and a spicy aioli for dipping. The crispy duck spring rolls ($7) were not that crispy, but the duck added some richer flavor in some kind of sweet and sour sauce with just a tad of heat. The wood-grilled smoky chicken flatbread ($8) had a nice balance of flavor with sweet caramelized onion, spinach, tomatoes and smoked gouda on top, though, again, the bread could have been crunchier.

On the show, much was made of teaching the servers to be friendlier, and our waitress was pleasant enough, though we had to wait for refills of water and wine.Our entrees were an improvement, with the salmon roulade ($22) emerging as a favorite - nicely cooked, with a crisp (finally!) outside over healthy black quinoa, sweet roasted tomato, greens and a green herb sauce. The rack of lamb ($28) was also tender in a demi-glace, with delicious garlic mashed potatoes. We found that perfect crunchiness again in the skin of the roasted chicken ($20), keeping the meat moist inside, and the filet mignon ($31) was also juicy, with a gorgonzola crust.

To complete the meal, we split a dessert, a chocolate peanut butter torte ($7) that we wouldn't order again. Something about the peanut butter flan didn't work, and the blackberry chocolate glaze was unappetizing.Before the Food Network, a dining companion observed, the Flood Tide was like a porcelain doll no one played with anymore.

Now, the restaurant has some new potential, and it should embrace change and go all the way, in food, name and décor. It's almost there, and we're rooting for it.

Westboro Baptist Church needs to be stopped and if the courts won't help these families let the Patriot Guard Riders RIDE!! Freedom of speech correct...

Defenders of military families at funerals see membership spike Eight thousand people have joined the Patriot Guard Riders nationwide in the week since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a fringe church that stages anti-gay protests at military funerals.

When the Westboro Baptist Church makes news nationally, the Patriot Guard Riders see a spike in their membership. This time, however, it's more dramatic, given the attention and interest in the March 2 Supreme Court ruling, which held that the First Amendment protects the church's demonstrations at funerals for U.S. soldiers killed in action.

The Patriot Guard Riders shield the mourning family and friends.
"I don't want anybody's speech violated, but I also don't want our military denigrated," said Douglas Van Houten of Middletown. "I'm a big enough guy that I can stand between two people, block a view and do whatever is asked of me to show respect for the military. Where would we be without them?"

A retired Air Force master sergeant, Van Houten had thought about joining the Patriot Guard Riders for years. The Supreme Court decision spurred him to sign up Saturday.

Twenty-one of the new Patriot Guard Riders joined from Connecticut. Nationally, membership now stands at about 221,000, including 1,200 in the state. Typically a few hundred people join per week.
"People reacted with anger and disgust, and they want to do something about it. Our organization is uniquely suited to do just that," said Bob Stone, the Connecticut state captain, explaining that the Patriot Guard Riders do not interact with protesters. "We simply shield the service with our bodies and our flags. If they get really noisy, we park the motorcycles there and rev our engines. I don't like doing that. We're not there to put on a show, but whatever it takes."
'Beautiful' reaction

A spokeswoman for Westboro Baptist Church, of Topeka, Kan., called the membership increase "beautiful" since it means there will be more people at the funerals to hear the church's "message."

"Yay! How good is that?" Shirley Phelps-Roper said Tuesday. "It is so much easier to tell people the message if they get off their dead butts and get out there to the streets."
The Patriot Guard Riders formed in 2005 in opposition to the Westboro Baptist Church. Their mission is two-fold - to show respect for the fallen members of any military branch, their families and communities, as well as to protect the mourning family from any protesters, not to counter-protest.
Thursday, the Patriot Guard Riders will go to the funeral for Army Spec. David R. Fahey Jr., 23, of Norwalk, who was killed Feb. 28 in Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was promoted posthumously to his current rank of specialist.
The Fahey family asked the Patriot Guard Riders to attend. A contingent from Connecticut will meet in Danbury Thursday morning, then meet their counterparts for the funeral services in Yorktown Heights, N.Y.

Fahey was born in Norwalk and raised in Yorktown Heights. Thomas Fahey said in a statement that his nephew was "a man of uncompromising integrity who served both God and country."
James "Sneakysnake" Davis, a vice president on the Patriot Guard Board of Directors, said Tuesday, "We have soldiers fighting for our rights today. One is freedom of speech. The very thing they're fighting for, Westboro is using against them when they give their life for this country."

Phelps-Roper said she was unsure if the Thursday service was on the church's "schedule of pickets." Westboro Baptist Church, founded by Fred Phelps, proclaims that military deaths are God's retribution for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

The Supreme Court case stemmed from the church's protest at the Maryland funeral of a Marine who died in Iraq, Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder. His father, Albert Snyder, sued. The church plans to step up its activities in the wake of the court decision, Phelps-Roper said.
Its members protested in East Lyme in 2006 at the services for Army Capt. Jason Hamill. The Waterford High School Drama Club, the Patriot Guard Riders and members of several motorcycle groups acted as a buffer.

"Westboro isn't going to change what they're doing, and we're not going to change what we're doing," Davis said. "For us, it's all about honoring that fallen hero for their sacrifice on behalf of all of us, and respecting the family for what they're going through. That's the bottom line."

j.mcdermott@theday.com

It is "Fat Tuesday" and here on Lake Winnipesaukee, it is warm and the Ice and Snow are melting. I have taken pictures to document how pretty even in the Winter the Inn is.

The family is coming up this weekend to celebrate mom's birthday day!! I wish all the snow would be gone, but I know it is suppose to snow again on Sunday.

Thought these pictures were pretty..

Next weekend my whole family is coming, it seems every time we get together is it either bitter cold or snowy not nice weather, why is that? We are celebrating my mom's 70th birthday, it also happens to be our 6th wedding anniversary, which have chosen to celebrate at the end of the month. I am of course, worried, nervous when the family comes to visit, I feel my life is now under a microscope, and I never seem to live up to any one's expectations.

Do we ever really feel like an adult when your with people who have known you your whole life, have seen you celebrate life's accomplishment, life's failures and disappointments. I love my family and am better when we are in their homes, but to come to NH and see my life and work, it scares me as if I should be doing something more in my life.

Ironically, I do love my life, the husband and I are a real team, we enjoy our time together and maybe way too selfish about it, but we cherish just 'us' time. We love to sit and read, do some work but still be together, we love to go on little road trips and unexpected overnights. Living right near the Inn, we sometimes feel as if need to get out of town, even if just for 1 night or 1 day.

Tomorrow will be cleaning the house, errands to get ready for the weekend, they all arrive on Friday..

A beautiful wedding today at the Wolfeboro Inn, it started out snowing then went to rain, then cleared up and was sunny. Now it is a bit of a mixture. The bride and groom seem very happy and content, ceremony was quick and sweet. They were smiling so big and sparkling, which is why I love my job.

Their colors were purple and silver with Ivory tablecloths and chaircovers from Divine Inspirations. Flowers were by Dandeloins here in Wolfeboro, DJ: Billy from Main Events. It was a nice turn out and a good mix of people, fun crowd. March is a perfect time for a wedding, you can have almost the whole Inn to yourselves and the town is waiting with open arms for winter business...