MAKE YOUR HOME AS SAFE AS YOU CAN

Unfortunately, crime is no longer isolated to certain areas, it's become an issue that seems to be at the forefront of the news everywhere we turn.  And it can very unexpectedly land on your very own doorstop with no notice.  Take heart though, there is no need to feel you can't do anything about it!

Here are some simple but smart steps to take that can greatly increase the security of your home:

 ~~~  Keep your doors locked and make sure all doors have deadbolt locks of at least 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch.

 ~~~  Have 'pry-proof' locks on your windows.  I found some of these at both Home Depot and Lowes recently.

 ~~~  Keep the bushes and trees in your yard and right around your house trimmed so your windows and doors can be seen by your neighbors.  This helps in not having hiding places for potential intruders.

 ~~~  Keep all of your entrances well-lit at night.  You can purchase from a wide variety of inexpensive spot-light systems with motion sensors that turn the lights on when movement takes place within certain ranges.  You can also buy sensor lights that come on at dusk and go off at dawn or some other preset time.

 ~~~  If you're thinking about a pet, a dog would be a good choice.  Convicted burglars have been interviewed and have said that homes with dogs were the homes they broke into least.  Dogs can be a great deterrent for burglars.

Ann Cummings
Portsmouth New Hampshire

                                    WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE!!

New Hampshire was named by Captain John Mason for Hampshire, England.  It was part of the original 13 colonies, and became the 9th state in the country on June 21, 1788.  We are one of the six states that make up New England.  New Hampshire was the first state to declare its independence from Great Britain, and it was the first to set up its own independent government, having done so in January 1776.  That fierce independence that NH natives are known for was shining through way back then!

"The Granite State" is one of 4 nicknames that New Hampshire is known by, and it's also the one most people know of.  This nickname came about because of the enormous amounts of granite formations and quarries throughout the state.  The other nicknames are "Mother of Rivers", for the five great rivers of New England that originate in NH's mountains; "The White Mountain State" for the White Mountain Range; and "Switzerland of America" for the beautiful mountain scenery.  Our state is certainly a very beautiful state!

Our state motto is "Live Free or Die", and most New Hampshirites take that motto very seriously.  This motto is relatively new, having been adopted by the General Court in 1945.  According to some, our motto is probably the best-known of all state mottos because 'it speaks to an aggressive independence inherent in the American dream, and partly because of its contrast to the mild sentiments usually found in most state mottos'.

This phrase came about from a letter General John Stark wrote on July 31, 1809.  He sent his toast via letter to an anniversary of the Battle of Bennington, in which he wrote:
                   "Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils."

To learn a little about our logo in the middle of our state seal, "The Old Man in the Mountains", visit my friend Monika McGillicuddy's blog - we're missing him more each day!!

                                    

Our state seal is the broadside view of the frigate "Raleigh", with a granite boulder in the foreground, and a beautiful rising sun in the background.  A laurel wreath surrounds the picture.  The ship signified the state's emergence as a major shipbuilding center during war years.  New Hampshire's state flag has the state seal centered on a blue field surrounded by laurel leaves and the nine stars for NH being the 9th state in the country.   

                      The very fragrant purple lilac is our state flower.  Oh they smell so 
                      heavenly, too!!  Our lilacs come in a variety of colors, but the purple lilac
                      is the one that is most prevalent here in NH.  When they're in bloom, I
                      like to grab a bunch of them and bury my face in them so I can inhale
                      that heavenly scent.......if you've never smelled fresh lilacs, you're really
                      missing a real treat of Mother Nature!!

These are just a few historical tidbits about my state of New Hampshire!  Check out the links I included to learn even more, and even better - watch my blogs for more posts about this place I call HOME - Portsmouth New Hampshire!!   

Ann Cummings
http://www.portsmouthnewhampshirehomes.com/

Shop Till You Drop!!

If you love to shop, you'll love the Seacoast areas of New Hampshire and Southern Maine!!  We've got every kind of shopping you can imagine!

Shopping in New Hampshire is tax-free, but with all the outlet shopping in Kittery, Maine, you can save more at the outlets than the tax you'll pay there!!  And everyone likes to save money!! $$$$

If you take this bridge from downtown Portsmouth New Hampshire north, you'll cross over the Piscataqua River into Kittery Maine.  Kittery has about a 2 mile stretch on Route 1 where both sides are lined with outlet shopping of every kind you can imagine!  You can buy just about everything here in these outlets except groceries, but you can get food products at several shops.  Don't fear, you won't go hungry!

There's so much shopping, I can't imagine that everyone won't find something they've got to have.  The Maine Outlet plaza is the largest in the area.  Tanger Outlet Center in Kittery is loaded with great shops.  And there are several others as well.....plan to spend some time here and some money!

Don't forget to stop and enjoy some of the great area restaurants while doing all this shopping!  Fresh local seafood is everywhere, and some of the local favorites as well as favorites with visitors are Bob's Clam Hut and
The Weathervane Seafood Restaurant.  Both of these restaurants offer up the freshest of local seafood, including world famous Maine lobster served in a variety of ways. 

After all that shopping, you'll need to enjoy some sustenance, and what better way to do that than with our fresh local foods - lobster here is THE BEST!!  Fresh, sweet ....  oh I'm getting hungry as I write this!

Come to the Seacoast areas of New Hampshire and Southern Maine - I guarantee you'll have a fabulous visit and you'll leave wanting to come back for more.......perhaps you'll even want to make this slice of heaven your new home!!   ;-)

Ann Cummings

Portsmouth New Hampshire on Saturday mornings is a great place to be!!  We have a really wonderful Farmer's Market, put on by the Seacoast Growers Association.  Our market runs from early May to the first weekend in November, every Saturday, from 8am to 1pm.  The parking lot of our Portsmouth City Hall, 'up on the hill' is the place to be! 

What a wonderful way to meet new friends, catch up with old friends, and just pleasantly spend the morning checking out all the locally grown produce and fresh foods!   Everything for sale there is all 100% locally grown, and you can meet the owners there, proudly displaying their fruits, veggies, baked goods, flowers and plants.  You can also try (and buy) prepared foods there, as well.  Some of our now-famous locally grown companies got their start at the Farmers Market, giving out samples of their foods.  And, it's also a great place to buy crafts and fine arts as well - great gift-buying and fresh food shopping all in one place!!

This season was the 30th year of the Seacoast Growers Association.  They are a non-profit organization who put on Farmers Markets in 6 different Seacoast areas.  They grow and sell 100% of their products at these markets.   I can tell you, it does make a difference knowing you're buying locally grown really fresh products - they don't get any fresher than this!

To learn more about Portsmouth and the surrounding areas, be sure to visit my website - while you're there, check out real estate for sale in New Hampshire and Maine.  My other blog has some additional great information about Portsmouth and surrounding areas - feel free to browse my posts. 

Ann Cummings

Winter's coming, whether we want it to or not!  And that means it's time to get your house ready for cold weather.  Getting it ready now will help in several ways:

          - It will help save on energy costs;
          - It will help provide worry-free maintenance;
          - And it will help to keep you and yours warm & cozy
               inside.

 Inspect the exterior of your home, and create yourself a fortress:

     - Walk around the outside of your home and check for areas
          that might allow water to get in, things that are broken, or
          things needing repair.
     - Check your storm windows and your doors.  Caulk and
          seal any openings and gaps to keep cold air out and to
          keep warm air inside. 
     - Look for any overhanging or dead tree limbs and have them
          removed.  If these get coated in ice, they'll become
          heavy & break off and hit your home.
     - Shut off water to outside faucets, and drain those faucets. 
          This will help to prevent any freeze-ups in those pipes.

Create a warm and cozy home inside - you'll love coming home and knowing you and your family will be nice and protected:

     - Have your fireplace checked out professionally for dirt and soot build-up
     - Have your furnace serviced and any parts replaced that are needed
     - Have your air filter replaced if you have forced air heat
     - Have the fins vacuumed in your baseboards if you have baseboards for heating
     - Have your furnace replaced if it's old and not functioning as it should

Having your home as fine-tuned as it can be, before the cold sets in, will help to ensure a warm and safe winter for you and your family.

Ann Cummings
Portsmouth New Hampshire

Here's a fun little tidbit I read today:

New Hampshire has 54.3% of its households comprised of married couples.  This info is based on a 2005 survey that was done, American Consumer Survey Group.  Utah has the highest percentage of married households, at 61.5%, and Idaho is second highest at 56.3%.

Additional numbers from that survey show that 85% of the highest income households in New Hampshire are families, and that 2/3 of those families have 2 incomes, husband and wife both working.  Americans are continually choosing to get married, unfortunately the majority don't stay married, according to the latest census numbers.  That's not good!!  ;-(

How did some of the other New England states fare in this survey?  Massachusetts and Vermont both had 48% of their households as married couples, while Rhode Island showed 46.8% as married households.  The national trend apparently is for less than 50% of the households to be made up of married couples.

So, I guess in love and marriage, New Hampshire, the "Granite State", ranks third overall!