West Tisbury

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The heat seems relentless as we head into the last week of July. Walking across the swath of our formerly green lawn, I listen to my footsteps crackle. Bobby, my mother-in-law, commented that she never remembered a summer of such prolonged heat.

Even the animals seem affected. Our cat, Grace, drapes herself gracefully over the back of the sofa. The dogs collapse in front of a fan. Their ennui has even extended to walks. Yesterday, Murphy sat down in the middle of the path, perhaps a quarter of the way into our normal morning walk, and refused to continue until I turned him back towards our car. Even Edgardo, our goldfish, seems to be swimming more slowly in his tank.

Meanwhile, summer activities continue apace.

I received an email from the United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard. Every Wednesday, from 6 to 7 pm, they serve a delicious sounding dinner in their Trinity Parish House, across from the Tabernacle. Crab cakes, sweet potato fries, cole slaw, and dessert. Or hot dogs, if you prefer. With lobster rolls offered at the Chilmark Church on Tuesdays and at Grace Church on Fridays, one hardly needs to cook for the rest of the summer.

Our West Tisbury Church will hold an “Attic and Barn Sale” this Saturday, July 24, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. White tents are already in place on the lawn, a banner proclaiming the event high along the fence facing State Road. Mike Achille is in charge. He is still taking donations of treasures to sell, and looking for help pricing goods, and working at the sale on Saturday. Please call him if you can help, 508-693-0165. In case of rain, the sale will be held on Sunday, from 1 to 4.

Mona Rosenthal, among her many talents, lists deejay. As “DJ Shizz,” she presides over a weekly Family Dance-O-Rama, an all-age disco and dinner, at Flatbread Pizza (located at Nectar’s MV at the airport). Admission is free and the music is non-stop from 5:30 to 7:30 pm every Wednesday evening. Call 508-693-1137 for more information.

Thursday through Saturday at 6 pm, Pigpen Theatre Company invites everyone to bring a blanket and picnic supper to Featherstone for “The Mountain Song,” an evening of song, puppetry, and performances. Admission is $12.

By now, if you’ve eaten too much, the Mansion House Health Club is offering free lessons every Sunday evening at 5:30 pm.

Or come to a one-night only exhibition of original paintings and illustrations from Margo Datz’s new book with Patty Schaal, “Nighttide on a Vineyard Farm.” Meet the artist at the Grange Hall this Saturday, July 24, 4 to 4:30 pm. For previews, call 508 627-4219 or email:margotdatz@verizon.net.

Colleen Morris has done a fabulous job with programs at our library. This week, she has invited Peter Rabbit to a special storytime Friday morning, July 23, at 10:30 am. Later in the day, at 4 pm, you can hear jazz performed by the J.C. Trio. There are always Saturday crafts (this week make seashore snowglobes) and Monday night movies (“Lassie Come Home”.)

This coming Monday, July 26, the library trustees will host a public forum at 5:30 pm. Dan Waters will lead the presentation and discussion about the need for an addition to our library, hopefully with substantial funding from the state. Please come.

Last Monday, I had the first of many dinners with my cousins, Malcolm and Harriet Gran, here for three weeks from Pennsylvania. I was assigned to bring dessert and did so — key lime pie from Fiddlehead Farm, a concoction so mysteriously delicious. Mal asked me to bring it for dessert the other evening. However, Fiddlehead was out of key lime pies when I called to reserve one. “How hard could it be?” I asked myself. The answer is, “Not hard at all. My grandmother makes them all the time and they are easy.” This quote attributed to the aforementioned Colleen Morris, when I stopped at the library looking for a recipe.

So off I went to Cronig’s, recyclable shopping bag in hand. There I purchased a bottle of Nellie & Joe’s Key West Lime Juice with the recipe printed on the label. Four ingredients. How hard could that be? Graham cracker crust proved elusive, as all Cronig’s had was chocolate or shortbread. So I asked Linda Hayden, my authority on all things culinary.

To digress, I hate cell phones. But Tracey Grady was talking with Linda, and offered to look up a recipe on her Betty Crocker cell phone app. The graham cracker box had no pie crust recipe on it. That taken care of, I headed off to the checkout line. On the way, I ran into Ruth Kirchmeier, who claimed to make key lime pies all the time with excellent results using the shortbread crust. “Better than graham crackers,” she said. I did make my pies, slathered in whipped cream and decorated with slivers of authentic key limes. The pies were easy and delicious. Of course, up-Island eggs made the recipe.