A Visit to Manchester, NH

This week one of my sisters and I travelled to Manchester, NH to visit my brother. We were quite excited, because he's lived there a couple of years, but we hadn't seen him there yet. He usually comes by to see us. It was a real treat to see him in his new home.
Unlike myself, he is very quiet and clean and organized. His place always smells like some kind of wood or resin and he has a gift for incorporating nature effortlessly into his home without making it seem cluttered. ( I took lots of notes, as I am trying to cultivate that tendency!)
We started our first day with a glorious walk. He lives right in front of the Merrimack River and we had a ramble by the train tracks, gulping in the fresh, slightly salty air.
Speaking of gulping things down, from almost the instant we got there, until the time we left, he spoiled us with a feast of fat things! He had filled the house with olives, cheese, good bread, chocolate and wine (Pomegranate Juice for me!).

It was fortunate we took so many walks or we would have had to waddle home!
One of the coolest things we did was go to a Brazilian place. It was an all you can eat kind of place, and it was seriously dangerous! They just keep bringing you food until you tell them to stop. And then you can change your mind and get more. It was like sitting in front of the mirror of Erised in Harry Potter. I didn't know if it was real, but I didn't care.
That place should be illegal.
(They also light drinks on fire there, which is neat. My brother got one.)
We did do more than just eat awesome food, of course. We took some petty fun walks around the nearby city. We found some awesome chalk drawings.
This one was my favorite!
We also went to Myths and Maidens, one of my brothers favorite shops. I love these kinds of places, and I was especially impressed by the wall of herbs, dried flowers, and resins. To quote my brother, "They have everything but Eye of Newt".Then there was music. Always lots of music whenever we all get together. Singing, dancing, laughing, reading, and crafting together was how we spent all of our nights during our visit. That was really the best part for me.
A bowlful of myrrh gets lit on fire and we chill together. Quiet reading, bead stringing, or you tube browsing ensues. We had a fine time!
Then going home time came.
Although we were sad to part from him, we had had a wonderful time. We were anxious to see our families waiting for us at home!
I was received by this beautiful bunch of Daffies, which had bloomed during my absence and the arms of a lonely hubby!
Also, our Girl Scout cookies had come in.
It was a joyous homecoming!