There is still snow on the ground, more of a patch than a blanket, but snow nonetheless, and cold. Our wheelbarrow was frozen to the ground when I went out to the woodpile. The woodpile itself had frozen in spots, requiring a good kick to loosen the lowest row of logs. One of us has to remember to fill the woodstove during the night.
Condolences to Kate Feiffer, who lost her father, Jules, last week. I loved reading the beautifully written tributes to him, learning more about how he developed the unique presentation of his cartoons, his many accomplishments. It’s time to reread my copy of “The Phantom Tollbooth.”
Also, condolences to the family of Arnold Rabin, our former neighbor and friend from Tiah’s Cove Road. He died in Ipswich, a month after losing his beloved wife, Sydell.
The West Tisbury library is offering free guitar lessons this Saturday, Feb. 1, at 10:30 am. Some guitars are available, or bring your own. Matt Pelikan will speak at 3:30 pm, about “Plants and Insects: The Complex Partnership of Pollinator Frenemies.” M.V. Community Seed Library will hold its annual seed swap on Sunday from 1 to 3 pm. Wednesday afternoon at 3:30 pm, Laura Jordan Decker will begin a six-week singing and performing class for kids 7 and up, preparing them for a recital at the last class. Sign up by emailing hburbridge@clamsnet.org.
Instructors from the Firefighter Academy came to the Island for the day last Saturday to teach a class about electric vehicles, how to approach them at a fire or accident site, and how to disable each model’s different systems. The Oak Bluffs Fire Department hosted all of the Island’s departments.
Mike attended with other members of the West Tisbury Fire Department, leaving me on my own for the day. There are always house projects that call for a free, uninterrupted block of time to make a mess. Saturday was my opportunity.
I have wanted to take everything out of the drawers in the red chest and rearrange the shelves in the stepback cupboard in our dining room. Both had become filled with unused, extra stuff, untouched in years. I had visions of neat shelves of tablecloths and napkins in the dining room where I actually used them, instead of at the back of an upstairs closet where the tablecloth I was looking for always seemed to be at the bottom of a pile, wrinkled, obscured by other stuff that didn’t belong there. Now they are arranged as I imagined, easy to see which one I want.
Casseroles and serving platters have moved to the red chest near our kitchen, closer to where I need them. Old dishtowels have become dust rags, and good dishtowels are folded in a drawer all their own. Most satisfying is the bag of trash (why did I ever keep this?), and the boxes of things to give away: too many placemats, extra pans, cocktail napkins, vases, serving trays. You can imagine.
Those drawers and shelves were also filled with memories. My mother’s teacups. The heavy casserole dish my in-laws carried home from a long-ago trip. My grandmother’s linens, starched and pressed as they were. Serving platters and covered vegetable dishes I used when I gave dinner parties and family holiday dinners. It all feels like a life past.
If you have any West Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Hermine Hull, hermine.hull@gmail.com.
