Tag Archives: Family

A Special May Morning …

Posted on May 7, 2013 by mvobsession | Comments Off

Edgartown harbor – Martha’s Vineyard

May 7, 1996

- by Joan -

(www.mvobsession.com)

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Tagged beaches, Family, Martha's Vineyard, Photographs, water

This might possibly be the best spring ever.

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Amber | Comments Off

It's true. The weather has been so incredible and we have all been spending so much time outside. Glorious.

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Tagged Family, gardening

Rambling, Kids, and a New Grill

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Amber | Comments Off

Not much new here yet, although the pile of fabric above will soon become a small quilt for Lydia.

Projects, projects. Always. I just replaced out bathroom sink last weekend and I am so pleased with it. But other than that, big house projects have mostly been on hold for while and I've been focusing on a lot of smaller items. I finally finished up my Harvest Moon cardigan, and have I remembered to take a picture of it yet? No! Must do that tomorrow. It turned out really nicely and thanks to some cooler weather, I've gotten to wear it several times already.

But back to Lydia: She will be a year old in exactly three weeks, if you can believe it.

She is amazingly funny and lovable, and so clever. Just genuinely a pleasure to be around (you know, except for those whiny, teething days). ;)

And one of the best parts? She LOVES being outside.

Any kind of weather, doesn't matter. She is just so, so happy to be out there. What a treat to have a baby who doesn't hate the cold, wind, rain, or bright sun! How wonderful to just sit her down on the grass and watch her eagerly grab for dandelions, or delicately pinch off a single blade of grass just to turn it over and over in her hands, so intently.

Today was a day of working in the yard, and she was in her element out there. Well really, I was too. Just 70º in the sun and a cool breeze, clear blue skies in every direction, and everything alive again... Perfection.

To top off our lovely day, we enjoyed our second outside meal of the season, made especially wonderful by our brand new grill. (Well, I bought it a few months ago, but it's just getting fired up now.)

The enclosure is a work in progress, but I am pleased with the temporary digs. They keep the wind out and the heat in enough for now, and that's a good thing.

Love it. I got myself a chimney starter so we're not using any lighter fluids or chemical-drenched briquettes -- just boring ol' charcoal and wood, and I like boring.

And of course,

It almost seemed like too much to ask for, but we even got a nice sunset out of this pretty much perfect day.

I'm hoping to actually remember to take my sweater pictures, and maybe even have some quilt progress to show by next week. Have a great weekend!

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Tagged drivel, Family, manic rambling

The Answer Is …

Posted on April 5, 2013 by mvobsession | Comments Off

The answer to the previous posts question is: tulip bulbs.

Knowing how much I enjoyed the blooming tulips in February, my daughter Patty and family sent this the other day.

Inside the box was a picket fence container and inside the fence was:

After removing its packing material there was this pot that had little bulps peeking out:

The instructions said to let it sit in a sink of water for about half an hour… it was tricky since the only thing handy I had to plug up the drain with was bubble wrap.. which, by the way was not a tight fit.

After its initial bath I then watered it, put it back in its picket fence container (which I think is adorable) and will keep a watchful camera eye on.

That’s it for my Spring gardening so far. I can’t wait to see what color(s) these tulips are going to be. Any guesses ! I’ll say yellow.

- by Joan -

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Tagged Family, flowers, Photographs

The birthday, part 2

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Julie | Comments Off

While we were away in Florida, my post office box was filling up with lovely surprises. People were clearly looking at my wishlist this year and sent some really fantastic goodies. There was a gift basket from Cafe Du Monde, a dvd about knitting socks in the Lithuanian style, the companion book to the 365 Free Motion quilting designs website (much easier to browse the book), the Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs (highly recommend this one), and a fabulous vintage Simplicity tin from my wonderful Pen Pal Tami (filled with stationery items, of course). In addition, the ever thoughtful Sara, gifted me the Kissing Koi pattern I have been wistfully admiring for ages. I suppose I will have to make time to actually knit some mittens for myself for a change. It’s wonderful to have such a bounty of thoughtful friends and family! There were some money gifts as well which have gone to purchase a kindle paperwhite. I’ve been on the fence about it for ages because I have an ipad and don’t mind reading books on that but I think the kindle will be easier on my wrist in the long run. Thanks everyone!

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Tagged Family, Friends

Beach!

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Julie | Comments Off

It was unseasonably cool when we arrived in Florida but we did have a few really lovely days in which to take long walks on the beach. I’ve never been the type to lay on a towel but I did sit long enough for a delightful picnic of smoked mahi mahi and guacamole with chips. The birds thought it looked delicious too. We always enjoy seeing all sorts of waterfowl and other birds but this trip we were lucky enough to spot some manatees as well.

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Tagged Birds, Family

A birthday celebration

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Julie | Comments Off

We spent most of last week in Florida visiting relatives and my birthday fell on the second day of our visit. There’s a local fish shop that is essentially just a room with ice chests filled with the daily catch and it doesn’t get much better than that. At my request, we cooked at home for a stellar seafood dinner. We made shrimp with garlic and basil oil, spicy beet bites, roasted fennel salad, marinated and grilled snapper (recipe works well with most fish), and for dessert Jason did creme brulee. My printer ran out of ink the night before we left so I grabbed Laura Calder’s “French Taste” cookbook and tossed it in the suitcase and most of these recipes come from that.

I would simply peel the shrimp and leave them whole next time. They were the tiniest smidge overdone and leaving the tails on is just annoying when you are trying to eat them. I would also just cut the beets into pieces and toss with seasonings but it’s nice to be fancy for a special meal. All the recipes were wonderful and I’d cook every one of those again in a heartbeat.

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Tagged Family

Off-Off Season On MV …

Posted on March 17, 2013 by mvobsession | Comments Off

… or, no inn at the room !!!

In 1993 we decided to visit MV in the middle of March. We knew the Island would be quiet in March but didn’t realize just how quiet it would be !!

We chose to stay at the Harborside Inn in Edgartown. The Harborside is a complex of several buildings, in the winter they would keep only one building open. The building we were in is the middle of the three pictured. We were in the middle room of the top floor.

Edgartown in the winter is quiet and solitary… ok, it’s pretty much deserted. A few restaurants were open, one or two B&B’s, a few stores and not much else. Some of the shops still had displays in their darkened windows, an unfair look at their tempting wares.

We checked in and were told that after 5pm no one would be at the desk. That we could make outgoing calls but incoming calls would go to their answering machine and those messages would be delivered in the morning. Remember, this was before cell phones…the dark ages, pre-personal electronic communications devices. And we were also warned that if we lost our room keys we’d literally be out in the cold.

Settled in for our first night of quiet and solitude. It eventually occurred to me that there was just a little too much quiet. There were no other human noises in the building, no lights on but ours… there was only the creaking of the floors and the eerie screams of the wind against the windows. Were we the only ones at the inn, the only ones in the entire complex? Yes we were, and suddenly the quiet was deafening and the solitude was ominous. Daylight couldn’t come soon enough.

The first full day on MV I enjoyed exploring the beauty of the Island in winter with my camera. After dinner we headed back to the inn for the night.

The weather forecast was for a winter storm with wind gusts over 60mph. I hoped that the power wouldn’t go out. .

And then I heard voices… muffled at first and then clearer. A creak. A door being closed. Water running. A laugh. Could it be, were there other people in the building ! I felt relief. That night despite the howling winds I slept well knowing that we were not alone. I almost felt a bond to these other guests. But in the morning there was no sign of them… no noises from their room next to ours, no creaks or voices, no nothing. Did I dream them, were they real or perhaps visitors from across time and space that previously inhabited this former whaling captain’s home ! The mind runs wild sometimes on a blustery and stormy winter night especially on an Island with a history of hauntings… especially to a person with a vivid imagination.