Woman's Best Friend

Solo, my five year old black Lab, rode shotgun for the 273 mile ride to Martha's Vineyard. During the silence of an uneventful ride, and while appearing to be dead asleep, Solo was a great communicator. Each time my glance veered in his direction, he drowsily and spontaneously wagged his tail in sheer appreciation for the moment.

Best Margarita Ever

Photo credit

Many people prefer the convenience of bottled margarita mixer, which is readily available in stores, to fresh squeezed lime juice when making this Mexican cocktail. While certainly not as fast and easy as pouring the pre-made beverage over tequila, fresh lime juice and Cointreau is the key blend to a perfect Gold margarita. It's this simple and delicious:

1 1/2 oz. Cuervo Gold tequila
1/2 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

Cheers!

40 Years Later: Historical Weekend

It was 40 years ago today that Ted Kennedy walked swam away from murder charges. While the story was big news for the Massachusetts senator, his cover-up was bigger news. Mary Jo Kopechne, the young woman with Ted Kennedy at a vineyard party, died after he drove his car off a bridge in an isolated area on Chappaquiddick. Kennedy waited until the next morning to call the police. Two days later, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong made ‘one giant leap for mankind' as Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

Pinkletink

Winter fades, Spring dallies.
A limbo. And then, a sound.
The pinkletink peeps.
-Alex Goethals

We met up with an old friend at the flea market this morning. John always has a number of interesting ventures up his sleeve. Today he was telling us about his new clothing line for teen girls, Pinkletink. Cute name. We learned that a pinkletink is the folk name for a spring peeper frog on Martha's Vineyard.

The Art of John Lennon in Vineyard Haven

A benefit for the Island Food Pantry will be exhibiting the art work of John Lennon this weekend at the Mansion House in Vineyard Haven. From the MV Gazette:

...“What many people don’t know about John was that he was an artist before he was a rocker,” his widow and artistic collaborator Yoko Ono told the Gazette...Working primarily with pencil (and later, after meeting Ms. Ono and travelling to Japan, Asian brushes), Mr. Lennon produced art throughout his life. His drawings are whimsical, immediate and human.

The show, entitled Come Together, runs from noon to 7 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Twenty Four Hours: JFK, Jr. and the Family

As if being at a Yankee's game isn't exciting enough, I was absolutely thrilled to behold a memorable celebrity-sighting ten years ago in the Bronx. The very handsome Yankee fan, JFK, Jr., was occupying a box seat near the Yankee dugout, not too far from our seats. While most of the 49,000 attendees had no idea of Kennedy's presence at the game, I couldn't take my eyes off him. Sigh! The next evening, just about the time JFK, Jr. was taking off from a New Jersey airport in his private plane, we were taking off from a nearby airport in our single engine plane. Usually, we fly to our home on Martha's Vineyard, but that night we were visiting family in Pittsburgh. It was a hot and steamy night. The bloghusband flew at a higher altitude than normal because of haze's effect on his visibility while flying into the sunset. We awoke the next morning and were simply crushed to learn of the tragic demise of Kennedy's flight in route to the vineyard. My first thought was how the haze, while flying over water, must have made the horizon indistinguishable. Ten years later, people still tend to analyze and critique the accident. Pilots are a curious breed, and never will they criticize another pilot. The bloghusband merely says that every pilot has a different risk tolerance level.

Allen Farm, Chilmark MA

Your daily dose of sweetness.

Potter on the Vineyard

The blogfamily attended the 7:00pm premier of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It was a sell-out crowd at the Island Theater in Oak Bluffs and about 110 degrees in the packed theater. The movie vaguely resembled the book we read three years ago. The anticipation was far better than the movie, but it was fun to revisit a fond memory of togetherness shared over 672 pages.

Countdown to Harry Potter Movie Six

Just two more days to the island premier of Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. The movie will be playing in Oak Bluffs on Wednesday. We are very excited.

Giant Green Moth

Photo credit hiltonpond.org

This beautiful creature would be far more intriguing in a zoo rather than out my front door. As I stepped outside this evening, I thought of Alfred Hitchcock. The vineyard is rich with all sorts of wild life, and each year brings a new variety to life. I did a simple Google search for "giant green moth" and discovered that this fabulous beast is called a Luna Moth:

Luna Moths are members of the Saturniidae family, also known as the "Giant Silkworm Moths." Luna Moths are huge moths, with a wingspan of four and a half inches. They have a white body, pinkish legs, and huge pale green wings. The hindwings have eyespots and long tails. They fly, only at night, in Spring and early Summer.

How Monkeys Open a Banana

h/t misscellania

The Shenandoah

We were blessed with our third boating day of the season yesterday. Aside from the blogson, Will aka Billy, who tipped the dingy and fell into the cold harbor waters, we all had a fabulous afternoon soaking up the sun on Osprey. It wouldn't be the perfect day out to sea without sighting the Shenandoah in full sail. From Coastwise Packet, The Shenandoah is a 108' square topsail schooner with no auxiliary power, thereby making her unique in the American schooner fleet. She is the only vessel of her size and rig operating under the American flag. The Shenandoah is a legend in New England waters, and majestic to behold at full sail.

InStyle Magazine? No, Just Ally

With time at a premium, the days of leisurely flipping though a magazine seem few and far between. Luckily, I have the blogstepdaughter, Ally, to keep me advised of the latest trends in fashion. With a long-term career in the fashion industry, and a life-long passion for all things fashionable, Ally is my walking and talking consultant on new and useful products and styles. Ally and husband, Paul, are spending a couple days with us on the island.

Grilled Pizza Recipe

The blogstepdaughterinlaw, Kristy, has been an inspiration in my attempts to perfect the art of grilled pizza making. Hosting the vegetarian blognephew, Robert, on the island, grilled pizza has become a fun challenge and bonding event over the last couple of weeks. Our two attempts at making pizza have produced delicious, albeit, rudimentary pies. We agreed to have one more pizza night before our departure, which, we are convinced, will produce our best results.

1. With pizza dough at room temperature, pull, press and stretch the dough to a desired shape and thinness. A round pie is the traditional objective, but it's not always easy to achieve that perfect circumference.
2. Preheat grill to medium hot. Prepare all toppings in advance i.e., steam, sauté, grate, etc. Pizza sauce and veggies (meat, too, if desired) should be warm and ready for the crust.
3. Brush olive oil on one side of the crust and gently place the oil side down on the hot grill.
4. While the crust is cooking, brush oil the other side. Watch the crust carefully to prevent burning. The crust will get bubbly. That's good.
5. Gently flip the crust, and as quickly as possible, place the desired toppings on the pizza and close the top of the grill for a couple of minutes. Watch carefully.
6. Remove the pie, pour a glass of Chianti and enjoy the fruits vegetables of your labor!
   

SHOCK: Teens Take the Vineyard Bus

The 15 year-old blogson and his friend actually took public transportation home last night at 11:00 p.m. At least that's what they told me. Perhaps they engaged in their first episode of hitchhiking, which would be OK too, but only on Martha's Vineyard. I find this to be blogworthy for several reasons: 1. It's a rite of passage, independent and out late at night and on public transportation. 2. We have never been on a vineyard bus. 3. An article entitled reducing how much we drive--child miles traveled? caught my eye this morning.

First Time Visitors to MV

Hosting first-time visitors to our vineyard home, we are reminded of beauty that surrounds us daily on the island. It's fun to be inspired this holiday weekend.

Amelia in Summer

Amelia is blooming this summer. In a recent email from Steph, the proud mom shares some thoughts on our little girl:

Amelia actually pulled herself up for the first time today!!! Unbelievable! When she was born we were told that she probably would not have any feeling below her waist...well, she is showing them! She is really doing well, no more retching, she's talking (Ma, Ba etc.), paddy caking, giving kisses, saying uh ooh, rolling from one end of the room to another, laughing and pretty much just being a perfect baby : )