Some food-related (mostly) things we enjoyed this past week:

Our favorite lighting store is right next door to a lovely spot for lunch, complete with a “sun-soaked conservatory,” which is basically a glass-walled dining area where you can get the al fresco dining experience while still being protected from the wind and weather. The food is pretty darn good too.

One of the few things we miss about having a backyard is a big tree where we can hang a bird feeder. Our sweet Amesbury family anticipated this need before we even realized what we were missing, and at Christmas gifted us with a feeder perfectly suited for the partition that goes around our terrace. We set it up last weekend and the birds are loving it, as are we.

Dan’s friend and colleague recently introduced him to a new local butcher shop that will pre-grind meat for making sausage. I’m all for homemade sausage that does not include the grinding at home step (and subsequent clean-up). Jerry’s Quality Meats also sells — you guessed it — quality meat, including these beautiful veal chops.

We’ve had a few overcast days here this week, so when the sun poked through the clouds one evening, we couldn’t resist a photo of the view from our living room terrace. The local Best Western never looked so pretty than when bathed in the golden glow of sunset.