Family, Friends & Festivity

If all you dear blog readers have been wondering why there haven't been any recent posts...

well, let's just say I went off to celebrate on an island.

The island of
Martha's Vineyard
to be exact.

(Click on any of the pictures in this post to make them larger.)


The lovely lady (in the red jacket, below) invited her gal pals to celebrate her 50th birthday by spending an entire weekend on Martha's Vineyard with her..isn't that an awesome idea?

That's because Lisa is an awesome gal.
Here we are (the first 6 to arrive) on the ferry heading over to the island.
We are smiling here, but the wind and high seas made for a rough 45 minutes.
We even had a couple of Titanic sized waves wash over the bow of the ship, drenching and knocking over several people who braved the outdoors!

Thankfully, we decided to be wimpy instead of brave and stayed indoors.

We all arrived in one piece, however, and shortly after disembarking,
discovered our BEAUTIFUL home for the weekend in Vineyard Haven.

The house was built by a sea captain and his family in 1843.
It was gorgeous.



Sunlight streaming through windows adorned with lace....

Cozy bedrooms...

Diamond shaped windows....

Antiques EVERYWHERE...and yet the house was comfortable, cozy and very livable.

The huge kitchen was something a chef could only dream about!

After choosing bedrooms (seven to pick from!) we decided to take a
short walk to the nearby beach.

Unlike home, there were flowers still blooming in everyone's yard.

A 5 min walk brought us to the harbor...

...where we walked along the beach, hunted for shells, and just took it all in.

We headed back home to relax and wait for the rest of the crew to arrive.

We started dinner (which meant we heated up chili John made for us :0)

And welcomed some new arrivals.
With 14 women in the house, there were always lots to talk about.

We exchanged recipes...

And eventually sat down for dinner.

Helene, Lisa's Mom, brought out a box of Lisa's baby pictures for us to see!

The rest of the gang arrived with hugs and kisses and introductions, 14 in all....
sisters, sister in laws, friends...all with one thing in common--love for our dear Lisa!


Day 2

Morning dawned bright and sunny, and we all gathered around the beautiful kitchen for a delicious breakfast.

Some of us decided to check out the cute little shops just down the street.

Loved this card...

We found this gigantic praying mantis outside one of the shops we browsed in...the shopkeeper told us they're actually good luck!
He was very cooperative for his portrait session.

Over lunch, we made plans for a beach visit.

Lisa took us to her favorite beach, Long Point, on the ocean side of the island.
We drove and drove on this very bumpy dirt road to find it....

And then walked down a long dirt road past fields and salt marshes....

Wow...the views were breathtaking.

Lisa felt like a celebrity!

And she enjoyed every minute ;)

Lisa's sister, DJ, carried a sage stick which offers good luck to all around.

Sisterly hi jinks...

We were all so blessed to be here, celebrating the beautiful person Lisa is...both inside and out.

Her sisters...

Her friends...


And dear sister-in-laws.

Happy Birthday, dear friend.

After beach walks, and chats and ocean breezes, our shoes filled with sand, and our hair blown by the wind, we headed back.

The house was warm and cozy.

Dinner was started (which meant we heated up Brian's lasagna!)..

..as well as an overnight breakfast casserole Linda was preparing.

Before dinner we watched old movies of Lisa and her sisters...and laughed until we cried.

Time for presents for the birthday girl!

After which we all sat down in the stunning formal dining room
for a celebratory birthday dinner.

After dinner...there was cake to be had...

And, of course, champagne.

Thank you, Helene, for giving us this wonderful girl.

The evening ended after we stretched our minds with a very old Trivial Pursuit game,
played with a side of chocolate ;)

Day 3

Sunday also dawned bright and sunny...we were so lucky with the weather.
It was perfect.
A few of us took a brisk morning walk to West Chop Lighthouse.

A bit blurry...but timer pictures are tricky!

The birthday girl was awake by the time we got back!

Breakfast was a heavenly overnight french toast...

The house had an adorable little patio off the kitchen, and it was actually
warm enough to eat breakfast outside.

It was time to pack up, but we had one last little trip to make.

A hidden little beach the owner of the house told us about...

We said our goodbyes to our new and old friends and headed back to the ferry.

Thank you, Lisa, for everything.

For a weekend that will give us a lifetime of memories.
For new friendships made, and old ones renewed.
For 3 days of rest, relaxation, good food, and good wine.

For the beautiful soul that is YOU.