Heather... and Chip

Hello Blake! 

I've lived in the capitol city of Concord, NH since 1992. It's one of those stereotypical New England communities where everyone says "wicked" and if you're not a Boston sports fan then you might want to hide. Overall though, New Hampshire is a very outdoorsy state. People hike, fish, hunt, jet ski, go boating, snow mobile, ski and basically anything else you can think of to do outside. 

When I signed up to get your piano I was really excited because I knew that no matter what season it was, I'd have a great background for such an important item! Then I was told that I was going to be getting it in the fall! 

How perfect!

Every fall our leaves change colors and it causes a mass amount of tourists to come flooding into our state, we call them leaf peepers. Normally, I'm not included in them, but this year I was! I took the piano and placed it in various locations, in leaves and around pumpkins. I took far too many photos, which I'm known for within my friend group, and chose my favorites to display here. My photos were taken in three different places; my backyard, a park on the Merrimack River and Pumpkin Festival in Keene, NH. 

My pocket beagle, Chip, wouldn't let me take any photos without him so I decided to make him model for me a bit! He really loved Blake's piano! 

The park on the river is right in downtown Concord and I had to take advantage of the falling leaves and crisp water! 

The photos taken at Pumpkin Festival are especially cool because not only is that where I went to college (Keene State - Go Owls!) but they won back the title of World Record for Most Lit Jack-o-Lanterns this year! So cool, right? 

The festival is a huge fixture in that town, and our state, and it was great to be apart of it this year!

Oh and if you recognize Keene it might be because it was the infamous Main Street in Robin William's JUMANJI. I thoroughly enjoyed having the piano in my possession and had many come up and ask me what it was for! I was happy to tell them all about Poughkeepsie and why they needed to read it immediately! Thank you, Blake, for letting me borrow your cherished piano!

Martha

Dear Blake,

Once upon a time there was a girl and a boy and they both loved baseball. After several years of courting the boy asked the girl to marry him and she said yes. They decided they wanted their wedding to be a little different, so they chose a baseball theme. The colors were red and white; the colors of their favorite team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

We were honored to be able to have your piano at the festivities. Out of respect for the service itself, photos were not taken during the ceremony with the piano; however several were taken in Bee Tree Park where the wedding was held.

A beautiful fountain sits across from the area that was used as the alter. There was even a hidden area where the bride waited for her musical introduction. After they exchanged their vows, pictures were taken in front of the mansion that is next to the area where they took their vows. There was also an overlook of the Mississippi River that provided a beautiful backdrop for some of those photos.

The reception was held under a tent outside the home of the groom’s parents. The table decorations were baseball cards and miniature red baseball caps filled with white carnations. The guestbook was a baseball jersey with the couple’s name and the year of their marriage. The wedding cake looked like a baseball and red gift bags for the guests included sunflower seeds, Cracker Jacks®, peanuts, and baseball gumballs. We dined on hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, and pretzels...all of the wonderful things you can get at the concession stand. The couple toasted with their preferred drink...wine for her, beer for him...in their own special glasses.

At the end of the day, Mr. & Mrs. Ballard left to begin their happily ever after.

Ruby

Ruby took Blake's piano with her to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina for some fun in the sun.

Azucena

Hi Blake,

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to participate in this fun piano adventure - and for getting it out to me while I was still in San Diego. I really appreciate it! The piano went with me to the only National Park here in San Diego, the Cabrillo National Monument. I took a picture of it next to the lighthouse.

Azucena