Beautiful Spring Weekend

Eight months at the Hippie House and we are still painting - it seems to never end!  It is Monday morning and this is a first.  Irv is staying in CT for the week - with both dogs- and I am taking an early morning train from Westerly RI so I can get to work in New Brunswick by noon.  It has been a quiet ride up to New Haven where the train filled up quickly.  A beautiful morning chugging against the coastline.  I was able to get a glimpse of the Coast Guard Academy's tall ship Eagle which is docked next to the New London train station.

Lots of nesting Osprey on telephone polls along the tracks.  Irv is spending the week painting (what else?) trying to get the bathroom to near completion.  And today we have a landscaper coming to do some general clean up and later in the week our new friends Dave and his father Jim will start the heavy duty cleanup of the debris and fix the stone fences.  There was a point over the weekend where I felt a bit overwhelmed with it all but we decided we needed to set some priorities, break down projects into small pieces, remember to relax and enjoy the area, house and family nearby, and remind ourselves how fortunate we are to be both here and in Princeton.  

Our weekend relax moment was to visit one of my father's favorite places -the Westerly Packing Company-which is basically an Italian market near the Pawcatuck River that specializes in meats especially the local sausage called 'soupy'.  

 They also sell wine and beer making  supplies.

Irv was looking for a ham for Easter and they did not disappoint.  The owner just happened to be finishing up cooking a few of their own - yeah, one ham down.  We then decided to check out the local Saturday farmer's market in Stonington where our neighbor sells bird houses.  The winter location is in a former Velvet Mill that has a brewery and art studios.  

Drink beer and buy art.  Artists and bars go together like ham and cheese.  The market is not big but we were able to get some local eggs from the Davis Farm (which is close to us) and some bread.  People love their chickens here as the local garden stores all had chicks and ducks for sale (they just passed an ordinance limiting the number of chickens based on property size). 

I will be in the Princeton house without man or dogs - the first time in say 10 years!  I am looking forward to getting some birdhouses and furniture finished and visiting the Studio to see if the Ox has arrived.  Today is supposed to be the day!