Memphis Democrat
February 14, 2002

Well, its been a busy week for construction at Dancing Rabbit. Marlin (of Sparky's Electronics) and Cecil finished installing the wiring in Skyhouse. Megan has been installing resilient channel, which is a metal strip that attaches to the studs on interior walls. Then the drywall attaches to the channelling. We use this to help soundproof between the rooms. It works because the channel creates a separation between the dry wall and studs, that the sound vibrations cannot cross as easily. Thanks Hopkins Lumber for being able, yet again, to order some wacky product we needed.

We also have purchased some recycled cotton insulation from Sharon Clark. The insulation is made from scraps from a denim factory and does not make you itch when you install it, like fiberglass. We will also be using it to help soundproof between the bedrooms.

Kurt has been drinking coffee and working like a madman trying to finish the upstairs of his house before Alline gets home. It looks like he'll be able to get enough done to move their bedroom upstairs before Alline gets home on Tuesday. We all can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees all that Kurt accomplished in her absence.

We're still on the look out for a house to move. We've been getting a few leads but don't hesitate to let us know about one.

The weather is right and the maple sap has started flowing. Alyson and Tom helped Stan from Sandhill tap maple trees on their land, ours, and some on Joe Neese's too. The buckets have been filling up quick and we're hopefully we'll have a bountiful harvest of maple syrup for this year.

On Friday night we all went to eat at Kelly's Kitchen. I think they sold more french fries when we came in than they did the whole rest of the week. Then we scattered to the many different events Memphis had to offer. Several saw the basketball game at the high school. (Go Tigers!) Others went to the Java Jitters open house, and enjoyed the music, samples of food and company of friends and neighbors. And still others went to the movie theater.

On Saturday night, several folks went to Kirksville to go to the Chocolate Lovers benefit for Planned Parenthood. They had all the chocolate they could eat and had a nice time catching up with some friends from Kirksville.

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is a nonprofit and a residential community that demonstrates ecological sustainability in Rutledge, MO.

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