TURKEY DAY, THE ECONOMY, AND WHAT WE HAVE TO BE THANKFUL FOR

A dinner table for all

By MICHAEL COUSINEAU

Here is an excerpt from a Union Leader article on how some families are celebrating Thanksgiving a little differently, because things are tight in some places.

"If you want to take the temperature of the economy, stop by places such as Blessed Sacrament.

Church volunteers fed about 200 families yesterday, about 50 more than last year, which was 50 more than the year before.

"I think the economy has a lot to do with it," said the Rev. John Bavaro. "Mostly it is for people who are alone and want to be with a bigger crowd for Thanksgiving.""


Things are not all bad. Here are some pictures of New Hampshire weather, to brighten your day. Remember, He will take care of you. When you get a chance, check out my "Lift One" page to see something else that is very important to me--child poverty.

LOVE IS HERE

Here is a great new worship band . Check out Tenth Avenue North when you get a minute. I have a tendency to say things when I should just think on them for awhile, but this is a great song.
We sing this song in the OASIS PRAISE Service at St. Paul's United Methodist Church in Las Cruces. Have a great weekend, and let me see if I can get a picture of Gage for you. I think he's growing like a weed.

City Planning

Here is the official seal of the city of Manchester. I am sorry it has been so long between posts, but summer just sort of disappeared. This post is about the setup of Manchester, because Las Cruces, where I live, is set up so badly that the public bus system will never be able to stay on time, no matter how the routes are changed, and I wondered if Manchester had the same problems.
Here is an excerpt from an article about a coming new mall in Manchester. Wonder if it will cause traffic problems.
Outlet mall on its way

By JIM KOZUBEK
New Hampshire Union Leader Correspondent
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008

Merrimack – Shoppers just got a step closer to getting an outlet mall in the southern end of the state.

The planning board last night unanimously approved a conditional-use permit for a 135-store Chelsea Property Group outlet mall on 170 forested acres on Industrial Drive, near Exit 10 of the Everett Turnpike.

The $100 million project is expected to take 18 months to build.

CHEERS TO "THE AVENGERS"

That's right, folks, I will never post the discouraging news of Manchester in my blog. That's a promise. Here is a picture of my favorite radio Series being recorded.., the Avengers, for South african radio, and remember, NO ONE IN THE WORLD looks like what they sound like. In Manchester, NH, weathermen are warning of severe thunderstorms. Quite good news if you are from New Mexico and the current temperature is 105 degrees....

BINGO

Greetings from Manchester, New Hampshire, where it is getting warmer and more sunny,
and the young uns are playing SCRABBLE!!!!



The word is: Scrabble

By SUZANNE BATES
Union Leader Correspondent

For the first move in a Scrabble game against fellow fifth-graders Troy Miller and Evan McCarthy, Bradley Robbins got a Bingo.

For all the non-Scrabble fanatics out there, that's when a player uses all seven tiles in one turn.

"That's not a word," Miller said, looking at his partner for reassurance.

"I don't think it's a word," McCarthy said.

They eyed Robbins nervously. He was known for occasionally putting down fake words, assuming other players won't know when he's making one up.

Bradley Robbins, 11, of Windham, counts a Scrabble score as his father, Phil, looks up a word. (DAVID LANE)

"We're challenging you," Miller said, calling in the judge, Robbins' mom, Jill Robbins, who checked the official Scrabble dictionary to make her final ruling.

The word was "taenias," and it is a headband worn in ancient Greece.

Good News For Bikers and Walkers

Efforts to pave trails are paying off, one step at a time

MANCHESTER – Gisele Sevigny Fontaine drove from her home on the east side to meet her friend Orianna Dolbec on the West Side.

The two senior citizens crossed the newly opened pedestrian bridge over the Merrimack River, strolled along the riverwalk and ended up at a late-morning Fisher Cats game next to the paved pathway.

"It was like killing two birds with one stone," Sevigny Fontaine said. "You got your exercise and you got to see a good game, even though they did lose."

Piece by piece, the city is expanding and paving existing or over-grown natural trails to make it easier for people, such as Dolbec and Sevigny Fontaine to walk and bike around the city.

"The whole point is for this to connect into the neighborhoods, so people don't use their cars," said Chuck DePrima, the acting director for the city's Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries Department.

GOOD NEWS IN THE NEWS...FINALLY

Outpouring of help

By GARRY RAYNO
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
17 hours, 23 minutes ago

MANCHESTER – Deb Gaudette of Goffstown knows what it is like to be without a home because she and her family twice were flooded out by the Piscataquog River.

Yesterday, she called the Salvation Army Manchester Corps to say she wants to donate some of the things she was given to help the victims of Tuesday's Pearl Street apartment house fire.

"It's not a big deal; it's just the right thing to do," Gaudette said yesterday.

So there you have it; some good news for your weekend, and it's 49 degrees currently in Manchester. (It's hot in New Mexico....)