The open house offers plants for sale, educational lectures and seminars to help turn your thumb green.

The greenhouses are off Main Street on the west end of Durham. Lectures are scheduled for Putnam Hall, which is across the parking lot from the greenhouses.

Saturday also brings the Little Royal Livestock show at the Skoglund Livestock Arena. This also a free event, showcasing students competing against one another for the best turned-out cows or horses.

If you’re like me, you have a chance to check out the goods at your local shop on Sunday, March 14, during operating hours. Get a free sample of the franchise’s dipped fruit and decide for yourself.

There are shops in Concord, Londonderry, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth and Salem. I don’t think I’ve missed any NH shops, but you can check for yourself on the Edible Arrangements site.

Let me know what you think.

If you were looking for a different way to lash out, consider taking tomorrow’s women’s-only seminar on self-defense at the Langer Mill in Manchester (third floor, 55 South Commercial Street). The cost is $10 in advance or $20 at the door for this 90-minute seminar by Savvy Workshop.

The Seacoast is up first with what is officially being called Restaurant Week Portsmouth, even though not all the participating restaurants are in the Port City. From March 26-April, you can find special three-course prix frixe menus. Lunch is $16.95 per person and dinner is $29.95 per person. If you have your heart set on a particular meal at a particular locale, reservations are highly recommended.

A growing list of participating restaurants, with links to their menus, is available on the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce site. Some of the hottest new restaurants join familiar favorites, so it’s a truly great opportunity to dig in and try them out.

Not to be outdone, Manchester brings back Eats Week from April 11-15. Unfortunately, I can’t find anything more on the InTown Manchester site, but last year there were some fabulous offerings at Richard’s Bistro, Cotton, the Commercial Street Fishery and Z — just to name a few.

You may have to loosen your belt after they’re both over, but that’s a sacrifice I think is worth making.

Have I missed any others? Are you North Country or Upper Valley folks planning a Restaurant Week.

Network for Work is a volunteer organization that supports professional networking and career development through networking forums — online and off. The group has scheduled a free seminar at the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19, titled “From Employee to Entrepreneur.”

The session will basically help participants determine if they should try to start their own business and then give them the resources they need to do so successfully, including discussing format options, selecting business options and financing.

Maybe you’ve been considering breaking out on your own but you don’t know where to start. Or maybe your job circumstances, like so many people in this current economy, have suddenly changed. This could be an opportunity to go after your dream of being your own boss.

Sound good? Did I mention it’s free? Sound better?

I thought so. Check out the details here.

It’s difficult to find anyone who has been entirely insulated from the recession, and many excellent writers I know are trying their hand at freelancing to get by. But it can be difficult to get a freelance career off the ground from your own home — too many distractions.

That’s why I think it is incredibly awesome of Float Left Labs in Manchester to open Archimedes Space, which gives freelancers and small companies a space to work, connect and mentor students of Float Left Labs.

Freelancers can use the space for free until Jan. 14, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Membership after that is quite reasonable, but it’s a good opportunity to check out the space and see how well you can work in it.

If you want to get the blood pumping and extend a little bit of the goodwill of the holiday season, check out the Cocheco Valley Community Skate Days at the Whittemore Center in Durham.

Today and tomorrow, the skates happen from 6-8 p.m. On New Year’s Eve, you can skate from 5-7 p.m. Bringing along pet food for the Cocheco Valley Humane Society gets you a discount to the already reasonable rate. Bring three or more items for $2 off the family rate of $10, or $1 off the adult rate ($5) and the children younger than 12 rate ($3) with a pet food donation each.

The Cocheco Valley Humane Society seeks donations of canned and dry adult cat food; canned and dry adult dog food; hay for small animals (no straw); rabbit hay racks; small litter boxes for rabbits; cat and small animal toys; and non-clumping clay cat litter.

Well, no excuses. The Salem Animal Rescue League has a great deal on kittens and cats through Jan. 6. While the pricing is in effect, you can bring home a new furry companion for a reduced rate.

Check out the details here.

The events take place at Robert Frost Hall on the campus of Southern New Hampshire University on North River Road in Manchester.

Beginning at 6 p.m. tonight, poetry teams from all over the northeastern U.S. deliver storytelling, theater, stand-up comedy and cold, hard poetry to wheedle points from judges selected from the audience. I judged the NH slam finals a few years ago, and let me tell you, it’s an AWESOME job, but ridiculously hard with such talent.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, daytime workshops and open mics give attendees a hand at trying performance poetry. On Saturday night, the top eight scoring poets of each team from Friday, plus two wildcard poets from the Lizard Lounge and Lowell poetry slams, battle for the NorthBEAST 2009 individual title!

Tickets to both nights’ events will be available at the door for $5 per night (with a two-night pass available on Friday night for $8).

This event is co-sponsored by Southern New Hampshire University and The NH Writer’s Project.

Soooooo, I just had to tell you about the Tyngsboro Elizabeth Grady Salon’s special tomorrow. The staff will be doing manicures and makeup at Smokey Bones on Daniel Webster Highway from 8-10 p.m. For just $12.49, you get a martini and a manicure or makeup application. You also get free appetizers and a chance to win some pretty nifty raffle prizes.

How awesome is that? It’s less than $20, and it’s not that far over the state line. Smokey Bones is practically in New Hampshire. It’s not like you need to pack a wagon train or ford a river.

I’m bummed that I’ve already got plans tomorrow, but you should totally go. And tell Liz, the owner, that I sent you.