Here at Hangman Hill

And on the eighth day of Christmas, my blog gave to me…….. eight tree ornaments a-hanging

Today we are giving you a close up view of our Christmas tree and some of the ornaments that we have collected over the years.  And guess what?  We decided to highlight eight of our favorites to fit in with todays numerical theme.  Enjoy!

Outhouse & Disco Ball

Glass Octopus

Teapot

Elvis’ Guitar

Angel (handmade from beads)

Guardsman (from clothespin)

Cow from Wisconsin

It was a very warm and rainy day for December, so the seventh day of Christmas we were prepared to find seven swans swimming when we arrived at home today.  Instead we were treated with two packages.  One was a traditional Christmas Pudding from Betty’s, compliment of Bruno’s parents Pam and Nick.  The second was the traditional chocolate apple made by DiAnn (Sheri’s mom).  We look forward to enjoying both of these over the Christmas holiday.  We are counting… 7000 calories!

On the sixth day of Christmas my blog gave to me six kinds Christmas cookies…

On the fifth day of Christmas my blog gave to me………five large packages

Over the past few days we have been wrapping gifts and looking for sturdy boxes to ship them in.  This has been followed by several visits to our local post office to fill out customs forms and buy stamps.  We were told by one post-office worker that they had instituted a brand new system for shipping international packages just three weeks before Christmas!  No wonder the US post office is unable to sustain itself financially.  We now have all of our cards written and in the mail, so if you’ve been nice you should receive something from us very soon.

On the fourth day of Christmas my blog gave to me……four solar photovoltaic (PV) panels

On the 3rd Day of Christmas my blog gave to me……three split boards (snowboards, that is)

In preparation for a trip to Colorado in February we have been slowly acquiring snowboarding equipment that will allow us to go in to the backcountry (away from the lifts and crowds).  We managed to find a three complete sets of boots, bindings, skins and split snowboards at the right price on eBay.  These are an early Christmas present to ourselves!

A split snowboard comes into 2 halves that are worn like skis for the uphill sections, and then clip together to create a snowboard for the downhill terrain.  See here for more information.

Having got our gear assembled we just need some snow to test it out.  Hopefully we will be able to take a trip up to Vermont over the Christmas break.  In any event, we have a trip to New Hampshire planned in January for avalanche training.  Wish us luck!

In the spirit of Christmas, please consider supporting a fund raising campaign by our favorite cross-country ski center (Viking Nordic center in Londonderry, VT).

More details can be found at

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/240006?c=home.

Thanks!

On the second day of Christmas my blog gave to me…………two tickets for a Jake Shimabukuru concert.

We were recently lucky enough to get to see Jake again, live at the Jorgensen Center at the University of Connecticut.  It was another great evening of music like you’ve never heard before.  If you think the four-string ukelele is a simple instrument just listen to him play here.

NOTE:  This blog was created back in October but somehow it never got posted.  Better late than never!
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The unseasonably warm temperatures and nearly peak color in Connecticut made for a perfect day for a  walk on Sunday.  Sheri met Joey just north and west of Hartford to hike one section of the Metacomet Trail which extends over a ridge that spans from the middle of Connecticut to the Massachusettes border.  The hike offered plenty of views of the Connecticut River valley and nearby hills.  The trail passes through some of the trap rock that is popular for climbers. There were some very nice looking single-pitch climbs on Gunk’s-like rock with blocky handholds galore.  A return visit with some ropes and gear is a must.   Once off the trail, burgers and beer at a local tavern was a great way to conclude a fantastic day.

Over dinner tonight we discussed a special Christmas blog based loosely on the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.  We are always up for a challenge, so here is the first installment.   Stay tuned to see if we can keep this up for the next 14 days!

On the first day of Christmas, my blog gave to me…..a real-life Christmas tree.

In these photos you can see us picking out our tree this past weekend at our favorite farm (less than 2 miles from home), setting it up in our living room, and finally the ultimate decorated ‘masterpiece’.  As has become a tradition for us, we picked out the tree on one of the wettest and coldest days of the season so far!