Another week of gorgeous weather. Warm days in the 60s let me keep the doors and windows open. I brought in some pots of the summer annuals that now are flourishing on our sunroom windowsills. Pink petunias with chartreuse edges, hot pink impatiens, coleus of different colors and designs, white geraniums, nasturtiums. They get full sun and heat, now that the trees are totally bare.
Leslie Baker told me a wonderful story she heard on the radio, that in England this season is called autumn, but fall is used to describe the time when leaves actually fall. I like the distinction, and plan to remember it and use it. I like precise language.
The library’s Halloween party was a success, as it always is. You can look at their Facebook page to see photographs taken by Scott Kramer and Steve Klebs. Many thanks to all the volunteers: Evelyn Kreyling, Linda Hearn, Margaret Gallagher, Charlotte Rooney, and Emma Van Lohuizen.
Saturday, Nov. 14, the Lego Club meets at the library, 2:30 to 4:30 pm. All ages are welcome.
The annual Community Poetry Reading is this Sunday, Nov. 15, 3:30 to 4:30 pm, at the library. Poet Laureate Emma Young will pull numbers out of a hat for the order of readers of their own or a favorite poet’s work. Then on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Tweed’s Reads group will meet at 10 am to discuss “Meditations on Hunting” by Jose Ortega y Gassett. Tweed Roosevelt will lead the discussion.
Everyone is invited to the library to learn about and discuss the new Island-wide “Smart Island Project.” This early-stage meeting will gather input, collaborators, and advisors to review the network hardware, suggest possible use-cases and pilot tests, and help design this planned Island-wide Internet of Things (IoT). Patrick Phillips, Sidney Morris, Woody Filley, and Chris Connors are in the early stages of creating an open Internet network to connect sensors and beacons for monitoring water acidity, or sensing temperatures or toxic fumes. It will text to tell you if your boat is swamped. It could monitor soil moisture for local farmers or show visitors where to find art, hotels, or local farms. Join the Smart Island MeetUp on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 6 pm.
West Tisbury’s Sam Decker and his wife, Katy, are offering classes at Atria, where Sam is wine director. They are as follows: Nov. 12: Wine 101; Nov. 14: Old World vs. New World; Dec. 3: Oysters and Wine (offered with ACE MV); Dec. 10: Exploring Burgundy; Dec. 17: Tour of Italy. Classes begin at 6 pm in Atria’s main dining room. You may sign up for one or more, or all. For information, call Sam at 646-647-0738 or email samdecke@gmail.com. For other classes, look at their website: mvwineschool.com.
Don’t forget the Winter Farmers Markets on Saturdays at the Ag Hall, 10 am to 1 pm.
The first winter walk at Polly Hill Arboretum is this Saturday, Nov. 14, at 10 am.
The third annual Truckin’ MV Fundraiser is this Saturday, too. All the biggest trucks on the Island will be in the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School parking lot from 11 to 1:30, rain or shine. The guys who operate the machinery will be on hand to give tours and information. It’s a fundraiser for Vineyard Montessori and a lot of fun. It’s $10 per child or $25 per family.
While you are there, check out the All-Island Free Annual Health Fair in the high school cafeteria, 9 to 1. Holistic, traditional, and nontraditional health care providers will be on hand to offer screenings and educational materials. Information about organ donation and dental hygiene will also be available. There will be speakers, too: Dr. Roni DeLuz at 10 o’clock will talk about “Lyme Disease — How It Affects You,” and Marie Doubleday, LMHC, will discuss “Hidden Issues with Drug Abuse” at 11.
The Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center will host a Vineyard Artists Holiday Extravaganza this Sunday, Nov. 15, 10 am to 3 pm. Island artists and artisans will have jewelry, pottery, glass, soaps, scarves, leather goods, floor cloths, herbal products, photography, and fine art for sale. There will also be palm reading and a bake sale, all to benefit the religious school.
The Martha’s Vineyard Museum announced that their Annual Appraisal Day with Skinner, Inc., will take place on Dec. 5, 9 am to 3 pm, in the museum library. To reserve a time, please call Katy Fuller at 508-627-4441, ext. 123, or email kfuller@mvmuseum.org. Members may register now, and nonmembers after Nov. 16. Cost is $15 for one item or $40 for three items.
Only in West Tisbury. Last week Mike and I were invited to a potluck Indian dinner party with several friends. Knowing nothing about Indian cooking, except that it could be very spicy, I looked up recipes and decided to make cucumbers in yogurt. Off to Mermaid Farm for yogurt, then to Ghost Island Farm for cucumbers, where I happened to mention to Sarah the recipe I was using from my ancient and bedraggled Craig Claiborne’s “The New York Times International Cook Book.”
Later in the day, the phone rang, and Marie-Louise Rouff asked me if I was making raita. She had gone to Ghost Island to buy cucumbers for her raita, and Sarah asked if she was going to the same dinner, explaining that I was already making raita. Although my recipe was a little different from a traditional raita, it was close enough, and I had made plenty. A crisis averted, all because everyone knows everyone in our little town.
