ANNUAL HOLIDAY HOUSE DECORATING  WINNERS ANNOUNCED!!

  This morning's Portsmouth Herald announced the winner's of the "Citywide Neighborhood Annual Holiday House Decorating Contest".

The top prizes went to the following Portsmouth homes:
~~ 1st place winner - 84 Blue Heron Drive, in the Osprey Landing neighborhood.
~~ 2nd place winner - 163 Rockingham Avenue, in the Frank Jones neighborhood.
~~ 3rd place winner - 1180 Ordiorne Point Road, in the Tuckers Cove neighborhood.

The Annual Decorating Contest is open to all Portsmouth residents in the various neighborhoods around town.  Each neighborhood submits their area winners, and then the judges of the contest drive through Portsmouth viewing the top entrants in each neighborhood.  They then make their final selections from that group of decorated homes.

The prizes awarded the top 3 winners were provided by various businesses around town - Atrezzi Fine Kitchen Accessories, Maine-ly New Hampshire, South Street and Vine, Home Depot, and Applebee's.

For something fun to do, take a drive through town and check out the top winners in the partipating neighborhoods around town:
 ** Little Harbor Area - 2 Brackett Lane
 ** Christian Shores Area - 276-278 Dennett Street
 ** Frank Jones Area - 163 Rockingham Avenue
                                          617 Woodbury Avenue                                                                          
                                          1050 Woodbury Avenue
                                          86 Farm Lane
                                          710 Woodbury Avenue
                                          900 Woodbury Avenue
 ** Stonegate Area - 200 Buckminster Way
                                      91 Buckminster Way
                                      66 Buckminster Way
 ** Osprey Landing Area - 64 Blue Heron Drive
                                                63 Blue Heron Drive
                                               109 Osprey Drive
 ** Tuckers Cove Area - 180 Ordiorne Point Road
                                             120 Gosport Road
                                             210 Ordiorne Point Road
                                             175 Ordiorne Point Road
 ** Woodlands Area - 115 FW Hartford Drive
                                        355 FW Hartford Drive
                                        490 FW Hartford Drive
 ** Atlantic Heights Area - 120 Crescent Way
                                                144 Raleigh Way
                                                115-117 Concord Way
 ** Cutts Cove Area - 414 Leslie Drive
 ** Elwyn Park Area - 302 McKinley Road
                                        2 Nixon Park
                                        9 Coolidge Drive
 ** Islington Creek Area - 230 McDonough Street
                                               311 Cabot Street
                                               98 Brewster Street
                                               13 McDonough Street
                                               71 Brewster Street 
 ** Richards Avenue Area - 361 Miller Avenue
                                                   239 Broad Street
 ** Aldrich/Thaxter Area - 50 Sunset Drive
                                                29 Sunset Drive
                                                337 Aldrich Road
                                                954 Islington Street
                                                1046 Islington Street

Congratulations to all the winners!!!  I can't wait to get out there and drive by and see all these great decorations!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

New Portsmouth Library Set to Open!!

Our NEW Portsmouth City Library is scheduled to open on Monday, December 18th, and the grand opening will be January 7th, 2007.  If there's a snow storm on the 7th, the new grand opening date will be January 14th.

This is exciting because it's a fabulous building that's been in the making for a long time coming.  The location is terrific, right next door to the Portsmouth Middle School, and a very easy walk from downtown and all the downtown neighborhoods.

For more information on books that have been checked out, the hours of the new library, and all the programs being offered, check out this link.  You can also call the library at 427-1540.

Great news, and I'm really looking forward to seeing it open! 

Best NH Businesses to Work For

Business NH Magazine recently released their "Best Companies to Work For" list in New Hampshire.  Each year they put out a list of those employers who are considered the best to work for in NH, based on how employees are treated, recognized and valued for their contributions.

Two Seacoast area companies made the top 10 - Seacoast Harley-Davidson in North Hampton and Appledore Engineering, Inc. in Portsmouth.

Seacoast Harley-Davidson has been named to this presigious list six times.  Because of the number of times they've been recognized on this list, they were inducted into the "Best Businesses to Work for Hall of Fame".  Seacoast Harley-Davidson has 66 employees.

Appledore Engineering has also been named to this list three additional times.  Appledore was named "The Top Professional Services Company in New Hampshire" by the New Hampshire Business Review.  And in addition to these 2 very nice awards, Appledore was also selected earlier this year as the "Best Small Civil Engineering Firm in the Country to Work For" by CE News.

Business NH Magazine awarded these companies because of their strong employee benefits packages, and their winning strategies of putting employees first. 

The Timberland Company in Stratham and Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc., in Hampton were both named as semi-finalists for induction into the "Best Companies to Work For Hall of Fame".

Congratulations to each of these companies for their outstanding employee relations!!

Companies like these to work for, as well as all the offerings in this beautiful area of New Hampshire, help to make my job of selling homes such a delight!

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

Looking for something to do in Portsmouth?? 

We have three great theatrical treasures here in Portsmouth New Hampshire, and two of them offer year-round enjoyment for residents and visitors alike!

The Music Hall is a historic theater that was built in 1878.  It's the oldest theater in New Hampshire, and the second oldest theater in New England.  This beautiful 900 seat theater is one of only fifteen theaters built in the 1800s still in use in America. 

In its early years, The Music Hall was home to vaudeville performances and silent film shows.  Today, it offers a wide variety of offerings, from films, comedy, concerts, evenings with authors, and so much more.

In 2004, the theater went through a multi-phased, multi-million dollar restoration that returned this gem to its turn-of-the-century splendor.  Much of the beauty and original structural construction and design was able to be restored, as well as upgrades to technology, stage systems, and patron amenities that will enable this beautiful theater to continue offering fabulous programs for many years to come.

This is the stunningly beautiful restored arch above the stage.  It's called the "proscenium", and you just have to see this in person to see just what an amazing restoration job this was.

In 2003, the US Senate voted to include Portsmouth' Music Hall in the "American Treasures" because of its preservation and restoration work.

Some of the upcoming events are "A Vintage Christmas"; "A Celtic Yuletide"; "Holiday Pops with the NH Symphony Orchestra"; and "Clara's Dream - A Jazz Nutcracker".

Just a couple of blocks away from The Music Hall is another of Portsmouth's special little gems - The Seacoast Repertory Theater.  This theater in the round was orginally built as a beer and grain warehouse in 1892.  It was renovated into the theater we know today back in 1979.  Because of the size of this theater and due to it being a theater in the round, you'll experience a much more intimate setting here.

Boston Magazine has selected The Seacoast Rep Theater for their "Spotlight on the Arts Award for Best Year Round Theater" in the Seacoast.  They've won this award several times for their premier entertainment offerings.

Some of the upcoming plays on the calendar here are, "Miracle on 34th Street"; "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"; "The Spitfire Grill"; and a varierty of
other plays.  The schedule here usually has 3-4 different plays offered each month.

Both The Music Hall and The Seacoast Repertory offer annual memberships as well as ticket sales for each individual event.

We are very fortunate here in Portsmouth to have both year-round and summer theaters!
Our beautiful Prescott Park has offerings all summer long that include concerts, plays, story-telling, art shows, chili and chowder cook-off festivals, and more.

Come and visit us, and check out all three theaters!  With all the various offerings each has to offer, you'll certainly find something everyone will enjoy.  Once you've been here to visit us, you'll fall in love and want to make this area your home!! 

Ann Cummings

All About Portsmouth New Hampshire Public Schools

 "The purpose of the Portsmouth schools is to educate all students by challenging them to become thinking, responsible, contributing citizens who continue to learn throughout their lives."

Most buyers I work with moving into the Portsmouth New Hampshire area have questions about the schools - where they are, what the curriculum is like, what the student-teacher ratios are, what programs are offered at the different schools, etc. 

I've put together information on all of the elementary schools here in Portsmouth, as well as information on the Middle School and the High School.   You can access that information in here in this link. 

You'll find all kinds of information in the various links I've included on the schools that I hope you'll find very helpful as you explore and discover Portsmouth.

Ann Cummings
Portsmouth NH

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