Vacation last part

• On Tuesday we head home back to New York, but for now we at still enjoying Leete island and glorious weather.

A new addition to our family is morning glory, an antique bisque doll I found waiting of me at the Clinton antique Barn.

Morning glory

Grammy Kendrick and aunt Mae Kendrick

Grandma Lillian as a young woman

A stop for fresh sweet corn

Dennis’ cousin SusI is visiting and brought old family photos with her.

A stop at Medlins farm stand to pick up fresh corn.

Pumpkins everywhere

Last night a hot and heavy game of banana grams with old friends Bill and Bev Colrus.

Banana grams

Dennis and bill have been friends since his first art job in Milford.

Old Friends

Today I will pack up the dervishes to make the trip home tomorrow.they are irritable and quarrelsome about leaving.

The dervishes protest

Well, see you back in the city.

Was a great vacation

Welcome to Fall.

On vacation

Here we are again at Leetes Island, Guilford, CT. Nothing much has changed and that’s the way we like it. We get all the change we need in New York City. We’re here to relax, toodle around, browse the bookstore, swim, eat and refresh ourselves. Crossword puzzles, reading and sketching and enjoying the birds at low tide are what occupy us. Dennis is a pro at jigsaw puzzles.

Dennis is a problem pro

We  love the sun porch which faces the water.

Sun Porch at the cottage

Dervishes sketch

They landed via balloons

Rainy Day

I went shopping at Joann’s and got the materials to make a small,doll. Part of an ongoing story game that my sister Pat and I keep spinning out via text messages are 150 miniature dervishes who now live in our living room in the village. Fifty of them hid in my suitcase and are here on the island with us, They landed one day via balloons and have been living with us ever since I have always enjoyed making up stories and characters and since I have been declared certifiablly sane there is no reason to stop. That is why I am making a dervish doll. here’s my sketch.

tiny and constantly,spinning

He will be around three or four inches high which is suitable for a,miniature dervish.

These are the materials I picked out. Joann’s is a mucho fun crafting store. And here is my doll as it progresses. Being connected to my imagination on an everyday basis is not only fun , but helps me keep my sanity and sense of wonder and humor. After a while the characters we create come alive and take on their own personalities. that’s the fun and fascination. When the dervishes popped out of my suitcase it was indeed a surprise.

Vacation part II

We are staying in a cottage on Leetes Island, Guilford, CT.  It is one of the original cottages and the family that owns it did just enough renovation to make it comfortable. But they left all the charming features of the old cottage.

Sun Porch at the cottage

Features like the original front door were left untouched. To me it is like a door out of a fairy tale cottage.

Cottage Door

September Hydrangeas

Changing clouds

I did nothing but watch the changing clouds for several,hours this evening.

Yesterday we set out to visit The Clinton Antiques Barn, our favorite browsing spot. We were disappointed to find it was closed.

We drove back to Madison, the town between Guilford and Clinton. Guilford, Madison and Clinton are coastal towns on the Long Island sound, charming New England towns with beautiful greens. I   spent time browsing in Walker and Loden, a favorite gift shop that has been in the same spot for 24 years.

I spoke with Bill Walker, one of the owners and Emily Smack. Next time I talk to Bill I’ll ask what the secret is to their longevity in this small town.  Here are a few photos of some of the varied gift categories.

Walker and Loden

A great collection of paper Products Design product

Tim Coffey’s Halloween dishes

Tooth Fairy Pillow

We like to spend time with family and friends on our vacation. Lunch with Dennis’ Aunt Willy is a treat. Willy  is the youngest McGill and just had her 88th birthday.. Dennis’ mom was the oldest. Dennis grew up with most of his family living nearby in Milford. The house next door to Willy belonged to his great-grandparents and then to his McGill grandparents. The grape arbor that his grandfather, Bill McGill, put up is still there in the backyard. When he and I first met, his mother Alice lived in a house down the street. For me, a city girl, this was and still is wonderful. Many of our family lived in walking distance in our Bronx neighborhood, but to have a house, garden and grape arbor still there from your childhood is amazingly wonderful to me.

In Aunt Willy’s garden

It ‘s been hot and humid the last few days but it’s supposed to cool off after some rain later.

For those of you who are familiar with the saga of the 50 dervishes (See Vacation Part I post ) I have to tell you that their idea of a vacation is to be very lazy. They have gotten so plump that they can’t even spin anymore or swim.

50 dervishes were stowaways in my suitcase

They have been so lazy

A most amazing sight

We’ve had thunder and downpours since yesterday. Tonight we had the most beautiful rainbow and the biggest that either of us have ever seen. The last time I saw a rainbow I was a little girl. You don’t get to see many rainbows in your lifetime – at least not in the city.

So make a wish!