Martha's Vineyard

My daughter planned the perfect trip to Martha's Vineyard.  She is a skilled navigator and able to identify all four ferries from a distance, which was one of our favorite pastimes.  We have different ways of doing things, which works in our favor most of the time.  Every meal was good and all the baked goods were delicious.  We drank five different kinds of coffee, some of the beans roasted right on the island.

I decided early on that I couldn't capture in a photo everything I wanted to share about the island of Martha's Vineyard.  Each town, harbor, and ocean view was special in its own way.  Each scene is a reminder that I was really there and that I plan to return soon ~

Leaving Woods Hole [Cape Cod] on the Island Home ferry

First night in Vineyard Haven we saw the Governor ferry coming in

Mansion House, where we stayed in Vineyard Haven

Harbor side of the Mansion House - see the cupola?

Mid 1800's community/resort of gingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs

Ornate porches and flowering plants decorate the cottages

The Katama ferry coming into Oak Bluffs Harbor

We watched the unloading and reloading of the Katama

The Black Dog store in Edgartown is one of many on the island

The Island Home ferry in Vineyard Haven Harbor at sunset

The Unicorn, Quitsa Strider II, and Freedom docked in Menemsha

View from the beach in Menemsha

The Martha's Vineyard ferry seen on return trip to Cape Cod

Return trip on the Island Home ferry back to Woods Hole

Vineyard Haven

On Sunday my daughter and I drove to Cape Cod, where we took a ferry from the town of Woods Hole.  We traveled south to Vineyard Haven, a town on the island of Martha's Vineyard.  My daughter has been here before to visit friends, but this is my first trip to this gem of an island off the coast of Massachusetts.  My daughter was wise to plan the trip, and I was smart to accept her invitation.

My daughter and I are having a wonderful time.  We never tire of seeing the ocean or watching ferries come and go.  Yesterday we visited towns in one direction, and tomorrow we are driving to the other side of the island.  I have more photos to post once I'm home.  For now I will share two moments from today ~

Harbor in Vineyard Haven

Sunset from the Mansion House Cupola

Life As A Quilt

I have been thinking about how pieced together my life feels lately.  Some days it feels like nothing matches up, yet somehow the bits fit together, and each day is a piece of the quilt.

This probably came to mind because on Wednesday my daughter and I went to Babson College for an exhibit and discussion about non-traditional quilts.  We particularly wanted to meet Chawne Kimber, aka Completely Cauchy; here is her post about her time in Boston.  Her work is extraordinary and special, and it was a pleasure to meet her.  We also met Andrew Mowbray, who makes paper quilts from Tyvek, a material used in the construction of buildings.  The other two quilts I am sharing here are by artists who were not at the reception: Kathryn Clark uses fabric to map cities that have been hard hit by the foreclosure crisis; and Kyoung Ae Cho attaches natural materials to fabric, and as they change the quilt changes.

Sharecropper Quilt by Chawne Kimber

Self-Study, One for T by Chawne Kimber

007 by Andrew Mowbray

Miami Foreclosure Quilt by Kathryn Clark

Fallen by Kyoung Ae Cho

Three Dozen Years

Here I sit, drinking a delicious Malbec, La Finca from Trader Joe's.  I often buy wine based on the label and this one was appealing.  The wine is good enough to buy again, which is how I judge wine I buy for the first time:  will buy again or not?

I am waiting for paint to dry.  There is one wall in the kitchen that has been giving me fits for 6+ years.  There is an underlying problem with how the dry wall was finished that makes the surface appear scratchy in certain light.  We have plans to hang new artwork, so I patched and painted but wasn't happy with the result so have been painting patches on and off for days.  Today I bought a brand new quart and will apply a fresh coat to the entire wall, which will have to do.  It will be okay.

This is how I deal when the world becomes too much.  I paint a wall.  [Over the years I have maintained that a household project is cheaper than therapy or divorce, although I have sought therapy when necessary.]  Right now the world feels heavy, and there is little I can do beyond holding loved ones and those far away in the light of prayer. 

Syria.  New Mexico.  Colorado.  DC.  Maine.  Tragedy for so many....

Today is my 36th anniversary.  I usually don't mind when Ken works out of town.  We celebrated with dinner and a movie on Saturday.  Ken and I are flexible with celebrations because schedules have been skewed for almost three decades due to his work commitments and three children with active lives.  A celebration is a celebration regardless of the date on the calendar.

But today I got a call with the news that a Mennonite minister I've known for 28 years has died from leukemia.  A good man, a man of integrity and faith, a husband and father, is gone and a community mourns...

While friends in New Mexico mourn the loss of their friend who lays dying, a man who will be missed for his friendship and generous heart...

Storms and fires rage...

And violence continues to take lives in this country and abroad.

There is little one person can do. 

I can offer a prayer.  I can keep a good thought.  I can hold loved ones in the Light.

May you be well ~     

Timber Frame: Roof Rafters

A cool clear start to the day brought the timber framers to the yard at 6:30 this morning.  By 10:30 their work was done.  We have a finished timber frame!

Putting on the finishing touches

Mark at the peak

A sprig of hemlock is good luck

Timber frame instructors, Mark and Ken

The crew: Ken, Pete, my Ken, Mark, and Gus

Finished Timber Frame

At home amidst the trees

In relation to the house

Ken has already started working on the next step; the lumber on the truck is to close in the top of the structure to provide a base for a metal roof.  Stay tuned ~

Summer's Last Long Weekend

Friday was a "gift day."  That's what I call a day that is fully scheduled...and then it's not.  The timber framers cancelled for Friday so Ken and I had a full day free.  It was slated to be the best day weatherwise of the long holiday weekend, so we took off for the coast.

We ran errands in Brunswick and Bath, had brunch in Wiscasset, and then made a stop at the Shelter Institute in Woolwich.  The Shelter Institute builds timber frame structures, offers classes on how to build timber frames, and sells every tool you can imagine you might need to build such a structure.  We had informative conversations with the people there, which led us to a lumberyard in Damariscotta to price shiplap, which we will use to enclose our timber frame shed.

Then we made our way to Pemaquid Point, which does not have a sandy beach or a harbor, but it does have a lighthouse to warn ships away from the rocky coast.  And it has an unobstructed view of the ocean from those rocks ~

It seems to happen this way ~ I don't get to the ocean for months and then I find myself there repeatedly.  I know I love being at the ocean, but I forget how it makes me feel.  When I get a renewed sense of that feeling, I want more of it.  My daughter has planned a special trip for us in three weeks where I will be at the ocean every day.  I can't wait.

In the meantime, the timber framers were here yesterday afternoon to put together the roof rafters.  They finished work just as it started to sprinkle, which was actually a relief after the torrential rain we had all day Monday and the periodic thunderstorms we had Saturday and Sunday.  If the rain stays away they should be able to mount the rafters on the frame by the weekend, and I will have more pictures to show.