I don’t know what the weather was like on the Island. I was off-Island, a world away in Old Saybrook, Conn., spending the whole wonderful weekend with my darling Iyla at her Granny Mary Bohan’s house. Iyla’s Aunt Bernadette flew in from California to be with us. We had perfect weather in Connecticut, sunny and mild, so I presume it was the same here.
We had a busy agenda planned. First on the list was to visit the Wee Fairie Village, an annual event at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme. Individuals and school groups designed and installed this year’s Twinkle Point: An Amusement Park for the Wee Fairie Folk, 26 exhibits with hidden treasures to find. Some were really hard, like the golden paintbrush in the Deep River Elementary School tableau of hand-built pottery structures from around the world representing each country’s artistic contributions. It encircled an enormous fern-leaf beech tree that we walked underneath, around and around, finally spotting the paintbrush stuck upright into soil that was close to the same color. We weren’t the only ones stymied by that one. We did find all 26 objects, though, mostly by Iyla with her sharp eyes, and her 6-year-old height that enabled her to see easily into close-to-the-ground tableaux.
It was an especially wonderful day because my brothers, Mike and Andrew, and Andrew’s husband Edward, met us at the museum. We hadn’t seen each other since before COVID. They live in Connecticut, and none of us were traveling. Mike was a regular attendee at the Wee Fairie Village, as was Iyla with Mary, and the DaRosa/Cullen family from the Vineyard, so I had heard about it for years. I was dying to go. It was even better than I had ever imagined.
We came home with a book called “Fairy House Crafts,” and plans for lots of projects this fall.
Apple-picking, dog walking, bike riding, reading lots and lots and lots of books together, and having ice cream every day filled out the rest of our perfect weekend.
I had barely gotten home when Mike told me we were expected at Betty and Bill Haynes’s for dinner. Forty-five minutes later, we drove into their driveway. Bill had made his famous kale soup. Julia Humphreys was there, too, accompanied by her niece, Keja MacEwan, and Keja’s husband, Chris Young. They were on the Island for the Advanced Martha’s Vineyard Ride, sponsored by Spaulding Adaptive Sports Centers, where Keja works. Chris has been on the U.S. Paralympics Alpine Ski Team for more than 30 years.
Eight cyclists with a range of disabilities participated on handcycles and recumbent legcycles. They arrived on Saturday, rode from the ferry to East Chop, through the Campground, to the Ag Hall, to Katama, then to Camp Jabberwocky, where they were staying. On Sunday, they rode to West Chop, down State Road to the Granary Gallery. The group split for a short ride (25 miles) through the State Forest back to the ferry, or took a longer route (40 miles) down Middle Road to Menemsha before returning to the ferry.
It was an interesting dinner party with no shortage of topics to discuss. Besides learning about Paralympics and the amazing capabilities of the athletes who participate, we heard some wonderful stories about past Halloweens in West Tisbury. I am saving those for next week’s column.
Lauraye White is the library’s artist of the month for October. She creates mixed-media collages and paintings, as well as jewelry, sculpture, and patterned fabric. If you are reading this in time to attend her artist’s reception, come to the West Tisbury library this afternoon between 4 and 5:30.
My condolences to the family of John Toteanu, who died on Sept. 28.
Sue Carroll, Janice Belisle, and I got together for lunch last week after a much too long time apart. We have been friends since my days in Edgartown. Happily, we remain the best kind of friends, who pick right up again as though we had just seen each other yesterday. I am so lucky to have such friends. Lunch at Farm Neck was delicious and lasted long into the afternoon. We had a lot of catching up to do.
