February in CT and RI

We had some beautiful, light snow on Friday, Feb 22nd, that followed by about 1/2 inch of freezing rain. A little tough for XC skiing and running after tennis balls, but it was really beautiful on Saturday morning as the sun came up.

Progress is being made in the upstairs bathroom at Spruce St. We aren't quite there yet, but close. You can see some photos if you like details like what the faucets and sink look like! http://picasaweb.google.com/HangmanHill/SpruceStFebUpdate

Spruce St: Pink Bathroom No More!

After a few weekends scraping, sanding and painting we are seeeing some progress at Spruce St. The bathroom and one bedroom are mostly painted. Gone are the pink walls in the bathroom. (http://hangmanhillnews.blogspot.com/2007/12/spruce-street-update.html)! Having taken down the big trees, the light in the house is very nice, especially in the afteroon A few photos of the very slow progress are at the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/HangmanHill/JanSummaryAtSpruceSt. Second bedroom is next, bring your sandpaper and scrapers and come over.

Tales of Granularity

Bruno traveled to NYC last week to give a presentation at the New York Academy of Sciences. He was invited to share his understanding of pharmaceutical powders and their properties. You can learn more about what Bruno talked about at the link:


http://www.nyas.org/events/eventDetail.asp?eventID=10364&date=1/23/2008%205:00:00%20PM. Be sure to scroll down and read about the lecture that followed Bruno's that describes the very efficient packing of ellipsoids using M&M's as an example!

Spruce Street Post-Tree Felling

After a weekend away, we returned to Spruce Street in Westerly to assess the situation following removal of some pretty large trees. (See red circles in photo). Once the branches, stumps and Brian's equipment were removed, it seemed a little stark, at first. One look at a brillian blue sky from the back yard of a little house once surrounded by giants confirmed our efforts were well worth it.

For more photos, before, during and after tree felling go to the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/HangmanHill/TreeFellingAtSpruceStreet

Ski Weekend at TSC

The first weekend after New Year's we took a break from scraping and tree felling to co- host a weekend at the Thames Ski Lodge. Except for committing the cardinal sin of not buying enough eggs, the weekend went well. Hopefully we are still on the list as provisional members, because the lodge is fantastic and the members a lot of fun. Also we did have time to enjoy some EXCELLENT snow. On Sunday we skied at Mountain Meadows, which is 1/2 mile from the lodge. It was warm, the snow soft and a peaceful day.

Happy New Year

Despite very cold temperatures and heavy wet snow before Christmas, we picked a few remaining carrots and leaks on the last day of the year! These, with potatoes and the last squash were roasted and served to friends for dinner to celebrate the end of 2007 and bring in the new year. The fact we are still eating some produce from the garden in December is pretty exciting. It was also great to share our bounty and the end of the year with Jen and Mark, friend on Hangman Hill, and Joey and Bernie, from Canaan, CT. Happy New Year!

Tree Felling at Spruce Street

We have been busy this holiday season felling trees at Spruce Street. The trees were beautiful, but HUGE. It is really nice to see the sky and have some natural light. "I'm a lumber jack ...." everyone, sing along.