Everything Potent Is Dangerous

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We had a lot of time to listen to the radio while cleaning the basement last weekend., and were taken with the “This I Believe Essay” by Wallace Stegner entitled “Everything Potent is Dangerous” that we heard (on NPR of course!) on The Bob Edwards Show . You can read or listen to Stegner’s essay on the This I Believe website.

We are happy to report our basement is dry and we hoping for a continuation of the sunny, dry weather.

Flood update from Hangman Hill

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We are at day four of vacuuming water out of our basement after receiving a torrential 8″ of rain earlier this week (see photo).  It is getting very old!
Our local landmarks have not faired very well in the deluge and a state-of-emergency has been declared in all the local towns.  Our road washed away in places (see below), and the bridge in North Stonington village was closed after its foundations washed away (see picture).  In addition, the town of Westerly has been without power after its main electrical substation was submerged.  We could go on, but you probably get the idea!  We’re actually quite happy that we didn’t sustain any structural damage, and we just need to dry out.  Fortunately the forecast is for a sunny and warm weekend, and we hope that we can start hanging our wet possession out on the washing line.

Flooding on the Hill

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Despite living here, on Hangman Hill, we have a completely flooded basement for the first time.  After nearly 15″ of rain in the last two weeks we lost the battle with the last 8″ that has fallen in 36 hours.   Fortunately it is is only 2″ and below the level of the “blocks” that most things sit upon in case this happens.  Even our friends Mark and Jen who claim to be even higher up on Hangman Hill are to be in the same “boat”.  Flooding in the local area is severe, and many roads are closed.  We have a friend in Stonington, which is closer to the ocean, that had 12″ in her basement before the fire brigade came to the rescue.  We are happy with what we have, so to speak.  The wet-vac is calling…

Telluride: Sun, Snow and Sleep

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We spent a great week in Telluride, Colorado, which is located in the southewest corner of the state.  We arrived just in time for fresh snow, which gave us the chance to do some low altitude XC skiing and aclimitizing the first day. The rest of the week was bright and sunny.  We enjoyed excellent spring skiing conditions, excellent views and enjoyed exploring the surrounding area.  Our friend Gene has been telling us for years we should go to Telluride, we would love it.  As always, his advice was good.  You can see a few photos from the trip, click here.  We had a great condo with amazing views, and a hot tub that really helped after long days on snowboards.   This time around we rented a car with 4-wheel drive so we don’t have any epic stories about rescues from Deputy Sherrifs. We did have a harrowing trip back to Montrose in a terrific snowstorm to catch a plane .  If only we had one more day for another powder day.  Great views, nice town, good food, and if you go the 2nd week in March, you will enjoy the company of a lot of Texans!

Hiking and Cheese Making in East Canaan

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While Bruno was visiting with his family in England, Kokee and Sheri spent the weekend with Joey and Bernie.  Saturday night we made mozzarella cheese with raw milk from a local farmer.  With the fresh cheese Joey made the best Eggplant Parmesan ever! 

On Sunday Sheri, Joey and Kokee hiked to the highest peak in Connecticut, Bear Mountain.  Interestingly, this is not the highest point in CT, which is located on an adjacent mountain that peaks in Massaschusettes.

Driveway at Fontana Calda

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We have two great friends, Bernie and Joey, who are featured in this blog posting.  Rather, Bernie’s art is featured, as we have just convinced him to part with one of his favorite paintings to grace our home.  Its based on a scene in Italy (a driveway in Fontana Calda) and it makes us think of the outdoors, fresh air, and beautiful natural scenery everytime we see it. 

To learn more about his paintings visit Bernie’s web-page at http://www.globalhome.com/, and to see some of Joey’s fantastic pottery take a look at http://www.funkwarepottery.com/  We are very lucky to have such creative and unique friends!

Freshies

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We closed out February in Vermont enjoying the 2-3′ of snow that fell the last week of the month. We were on the slopes on Saturday at 8am and carved through powder all day.  We only just had enough energy to catch the last chair lift of the day. Temperatures were warm, and periods of sun and snow filled in and out throughout the day.  We have done well to get some riding in before our trip to Telluride.  We had a great day earlier this month with Gene and Kathy (photo below).

Sprouts from the snow

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Like much of the east coast we’ve had snow on the ground for several weeks now.  We’ve avoided the large snow falls of the mid-Atlantic states, so today we were able to head out to the garden and pick a dinner’s worth of Brussels sprouts.  The veggies were acccompanied by Sheri’s latest culinary creation – Cowboy and Indian Pie – which is like shepherd’s pie, but made with minced bison meat.  Very tasty!

Taking Cheese Making on the Road

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We took our cheese making skills(?), renin and fresh raw milk from a local farm on the road to Joann and Eric’s on Friday night.  You can see photos on their blog, just click here.  The cheese making was a success, and the pizza fantastic.  Interestingly the curds and final product were much different the second time around.   Presumably the milk is key?  Even more interesting was that we started with a gallon of milk and ended up with a gallon of whey and ~1pound of cheese.  We declared success in creating matter and fresh cheese.  Here at  HHR we are on a mission to use the whey, so it has gone into muffins, bread pudding, oatmeal and bread.  Horrraayy, we love carbs.