Alas, I think the off-season has now begun. But for all the sorrow over the “closed” ice cream shops, there is an upside: it’s movie time at the library!

Last night the book aisles were packed with folks who had come to view a hilarious film about the behind the scenes making of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Mikado.

The series runs every Tuesday night until, well, spring. Before the movie, everyone clusters around the dessert table (last night homemade chocolate trifle and almond cake), loads up on goodies and coffee and tea, then settles in for the evening. Great fun!

Not to mention that I believe I have officially become a library rat. (No rodent comments, please.)

On Mondays I venture out of my comfort zone (the Edgartown Library is closed on Mondays) and head over to Vineyard Haven where the winter boats from Woods Hole come and go. I thought it was really nice that this one posed for me (us!) yesterday.

This is not the biggest of the fleet, and, oddly, she’s named The Nantucket, though as best as I can tell, she just goes back and forth from MV to the Cape. Might be wrong about that.

Whatever, I thought it made a pretty picture and I was procrastinating, anyway.

It’s not really a Dump. It’s called a Landfill. But, to me, it looks as if it’s really just a holding place for trash to be hauled off-island. Not sure about that. Anyway, It costs $2 for a white bag, $4 for a black, lawn & leaf bag. I’m told some folks have perfected the art of stuffing 3 white bags into one black bag, thereby saving $2. For the life of me, I can’t figure out how to do that. Guess it’s one of those island secrets.

When you arrive at the “Landfill” with your white or black bag(s), you pay your $, then drive up to one of these two “windows.” You then toss your bag(s) into a window, where it comes to rest either on a pile of other bags, or on a cement floor if the bucket loader has just removed the day’s haul for parts unknown (or at least, unknown to this writer).

I’d like to think it goes to somewhere exotic like Boston’s North Shore. Imagine my Zone Bar wrappers and empty Chobani cups taking that excursion…crossing the Sound, then the Bourne Bridge, then up the highway to where the Landfill might look more sophisticated. Truth is, though, this one is fine. I should know. After all, I once was wed to a Sanitation Engineer.

Baseball and Brad Pitt. What’s not to love?

Which was why a couple of friends and I decided to beat feet to the premiere (in Edgartown) of “Moneyball”. First show: 4:15. After, we would go to The Newes to dissect all the good parts of the film.

Imagine our distress when we arrived at the cinema, only to learn that the flight from Boston that was to have “Moneyball” on board had been delayed because of rain. A Rain Delay. Sounds awfully familiar.

We were, however, given “Emergency” free passes, and told to return for a 7:45 show. Hopefully, the film would come via boat instead plane.

So we cooled our heels awhile, went to The Newes for soup, then went back for 7:45. A sign on the door said it all: “The movie never got here.”

Well, boo.

Life on an island isn’t quite perfect, after all. Although we do have those free passes!

Bay Scallops – pre-feast

Well, okay, I know it isn’t CHOCOLATE…but, as I mentioned earlier, it’s scallop season! Dinner last night at Linda Jean’s in Oak Bluffs…melt-in-your-mouth-delectable, fresh off the boat. Double Yum.

About a dozen years ago my travels took me to Switzerland, to a tiny village, whose name I can’t remember, in the Alps. We stayed in the lovely Beau Rivage Hotel that is set on an equally lovely lake whose name I can’t remember, either. (I do recall reading that a week after we returned, the singer Phil Collins was married there. I, thankfully, was not.)
Other than the loveliness, I remember the small village church, and the peal of bells that rang out on the hour, echoing off the pristine lake and the Heidi-like mountains. The sounds were soothing, peaceful, the kind that make you smile all day.
And now I have the Old Whaling Church.
The guidebook says it was built for the Methodists in 1843 with money from the whalers, a huge industry in Edgartown. The Greek Revival style, with enormous Gothic columns and a 92-foot bell tower, boasts a light inside the steeple that could be seen by sailors many miles out to sea. Today the church is used for lots of concerts, lectures, and community gatherings.
The best part is, from where I’m staying, each hour brings the comfort of the resonating bells.
Perfect.
Hey, look! When I took this pic it is almost 11:00!!! If you listen carefully, maybe you can hear them, too!

Okay, so I’ve never been the outdoor-sy type. I admit it. (You probably already knew that by my mouse-overreaction.) Anyway, it makes being a writer a bit tough. All those lovely descriptions of landscapes and flora and fauna are really, really hard for me to write. I don’t automatically know that a tree is a dwarf pine or that a bird is a piping plover. So when I came upon this vegetation (if that’s even the right word) yesterday down by the lighthouse, I know I can’t trust my instincts that immediately said, “Rose hips!” I think it is, but….. If anyone knows, please advise. In researching an earlier novel, I remember something about Beach Roses becoming Rose Hips as the seasons change, but I can’t be certain. Help, please. Oh, yes, and I do know there are a couple of oak leaves on top of the shrub. I recognized them from years of raking. (By the way, that’s Chappaquiddick in the background. Turned out that yesterday was another(!) incredibly beautiful day. So much for library time.)

A cloudy day – yay! Peak season is done and the skies are sighing. As for me, it’s a great day to hunker down in the library…a guilty pleasure that’s way better than chocolate!!!

If, in October 1492, Columbus had discovered Martha’s Vineyard, here’s what he would have seen: tourists walking slowly through the streets of Edgartown, as if wanting to make the last breath of summer last; anglers lined up at the Fishing Derby Weigh-In, hoping to have the biggest Blue that will win them the pick-up or the boat (not sure what the specifics would have been back then); sweet-toothers in queue at Murdick’s Fudge, placing orders for penuche to have sent home to the aunts and uncles who hadn’t been able to make it to the island for the season. If he (Columbus) was near the beach he no doubt also would have seen the nets and pails of scalloppers – as the season has officially begun!!! (See photo below.) But, no, Columbus went south – he was perhaps fearful of the oncoming winter. Obviously, no one had told him this place is great fun when it’s quiet. Not to mention than the rates are lower. Or that my favorite pub, The Newes, is open year round!

No picture today. How could I possibly capture the image of chocolate decadence??? These Vineyarders sure know how to party. Chocolate mousse cakes and bread puddings and brownies and s’mores; chocolate candies and cookies and pastries galore. Even chocolate martinis (Yes! I actually tried one!!!). A very fun evening, a nice fundraising event for Featherstone Art Center. And, yes, all was yummy (talk about learning to pace oneself!), and though I did not try everything, the mousse cake was divine. Just think, I am actually doing this for RESEARCH! Life is good.