Thoughts On A Sunday

We got a good start in cutting back the brush on the lower 40 here at The Manse. Now if we can stay ahead of it it should stay pretty spiffy looking all summer.

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We've been trying out a different diner over the past couple of weekends at the urging of the WP Parents. While not as classic as the ever popular Paugus Diner, the food is good, there's plenty of it, and it's less expensive than the Paugus.

Another thing that led us to try a different diner was the departure of our favorite waitress, Colleen.

This will in no way affect the Paugus Diner Poll™, which is still planned for a restart some time in September. Because we'll be adding a small number of other diners to the poll, I think I'm going to have to rename it the Lakes Region Diner Poll™

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Gas prices have been in the news lately (no surprise there). While a few stations here and there are above $3 per gallon here in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, most I've seen are still in the $2.79 to $2.89 range for 87 octane.

Quite a few folks up this way are wondering if the high gas prices will affect the summer tourist season. I have no doubt that will be the case, but I don't know if it will be a positive or negative effect. The Lakes Region may lose some out of state visitors, but it's quite possible that in-state visits will go up to make up the difference.

Then again, maybe not.

In any case, people are driving less as prices go up.

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John Stossel points his spotlight at school vouchers and the forces arrayed against the idea even though time and again vouchers have been shown to work when it comes to the quality of education. Who is it that is so vehemently against vouchers? Teachers unions, of course.

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Saturday's Meet The New press had this from Jennifer Ruben about Fred Thompson.

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I checked in on the progress the marina is making on The Boat. It requires a little bit of work that neither BeezleBub or I were capable of performing due to the lack of the proper tools.

It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

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I don't know about the state of the housing market in other parts of the country, but in New Hampshire many are seeing a 'soft' landing rather than a crash. Prices have declined 2.5 percent and sales are down 6.1 percent as compared to this time last year. It's not easy for sellers but it does give buyers more leverage than they've had for some time.

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The first real signs of the summerfolk returning has appeared, with a number of summer cottages and camps being reopened by their owners. I've already seen a few of the seasonal residents with which I am acquainted, one or two of them working on getting their summer places squared away.

It won't be too soon before the cursed “summah people” make an appearance as well.

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And that's the news from Lake Winnipesaukee, where summer weather is returning, yard work is all too plentiful and where the rest of us are cringing at the thought of the return of the “summah people”.