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Katy and Chappy are my granddogs… their mom is my daughter Deb..

This is Katy (Katama) our Boykin Spaniel, she was our first dog to go to Martha’s Vineyard… actually our first dog to ever go on a vacation with us. Here she is on the Islander in May 2000, looking happy and eager to get on with her adventures.

She enjoyed her first dip in the ocean… running and barking and trying to catch an elusive wave or two.

At Katama/South Beach, the place she was named for she was a little unsure of the waves so she mostly romped along side of them.

A quiet morning at Edgartown lighthouse was nice after going to the beach, shopping and meeting people. Unfortunately it was Katy’s one and only trip to MV… a year later she was hit by a car and died at only 20 months old. Did you ever see such beautiful yellow eyes. She was a sweetheart and we miss her and love her.
And then along came…

Chappy (Chappaquiddick) our second Boykin Spaniel and our first boy dog. His first vacation, in May 2002, at age 10 months was of course to MV, and he loved the beach too.

And Sengekontacket pond which is a little calmer then the ocean.
Relaxing at Vineyard Haven harbor is fun too… watching the ferries arriving and leaving and sometimes meeting an Island dog to chat with. This by the way is his mom Deb’s favorite picture of him.

Chappy had to visit the place he was named after too so here he is with Deb on Chappaquiddick.

Two of the places we’ve stayed with Chappy are Bradys NESW and The Island Inn, they’re great place to stay with or without your pet. Chappy says a few of his favorite stores are – Good Dog Goods in Oak Bluffs… the treats there are wonderful (especially the cheese ones and the peanut butter ones) and the people always remember him and sometimes get down on the floor to play with him. He also recommends the Black Dog for their dog biscuits… he says they’re droolicious.
Chappy’s been known to visit my blog from time to time… here are a couple of his posts:
CLICK HERE for “Chappy Visits MV”
CLICK HERE for “Vacationing With Pets”
- by Joan -
I set out today to meet my daughter Patty and to find the beauty in a rainy day.
Patty with her cheery umbrella…
Chatting over tea and coffee …
All of a sudden we could see sunshine…
So out we went to walk around Lafayette Village for a bit…
On the way home the skies darkened…
By the time I got home it was doing this…
Since I didn’t want to get drenched I sat in the car and took some pictures …
Success… I found what I was looking for
- by Joan -
“I am, and always will be, a lighthouse keeper’s daughter. I had the good fortune to be born to a different kind of childhood. I didn’t recognize this fact back when I was small. I thought that everybody lived like we did on our little island of Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts, which in itself was a life apart…” Seamond Ponsart Roberts.
These words were spoken by my dear friend Seamond Roberts who just had this book published.
Seamond grew up here at West Chop lighthouse on Martha’s Vineyard – can you think of a more perfect spot to spend your childhood.
A couple of years ago I did a post about her called ‘Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter’… CLICK HERE to read it.
My copy just came today and I haven’t read it yet but I have heard many of Seamond’s stories and they are delightful, riveting, heart breaking, touching and humorous… you’ll love it.
“EVERYDAY HEROES: The True Story Of A Lighthouse Family” (available on Amazon.com)
Come back and let me know how you liked it… better yet if you want to email Seamond contact me for her email address… she’d love to hear from you… she told me so
- by Joan -
(I’m posting a day in my life as part of a project that
Saturday April 20, 2013 was the 3rd New Jersey Garden State Yarn Crawl.
This was the 3rd one for Deb and me. Deb, by the way, has a great site where she reviews knitting books, go take a look.. Knitting Scholar.com
Now back to our scheduled crawl.
First stop.. The Stitching Bee in Chatham, NJ. Nice shop, nice people working there and they carry Juniper Moon Farm yarn. We are BIG fans of JMF and Susan Gibbs who started it.
Second stop, the beautiful town of Madison, NJ
Madison is home to three colleges… Drew University (where Deb graduated from)… Fairleigh Dickinson University and the College of St Elizabeth…. and
The Blue Purl knitting shop.. this is one of the nicest knitting shops… friendly people, lovely yarns, great location.
Time to refuel… one of us had yogurt, one had coffee and cake – not naming names.
Next stop… Trillium Yarns in Morristown, NJ.
Trillium just moved into a bigger space and it’s gorgeous. Trillium Yarns is large, airy, bright and a cheerful place with a hugh selection of yarns… it’s a delightful place for knitters. Beverly, the owner who is seated at the desk is talking with Deb who is a ‘new’ old friend.
Let me explain that…
Deb and Beverly were among the original shareholders at the Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm which Susan Gibbs started before she began Juniper Moon Fiber Farm. Back in April of 2008 Deb and I were at the MV fiber festival as was Beverly… only we didn’t know that until last Sep when we stopped by Trillium and started talking about Juniper Moon Farm yarn. Love these small world moments. Continuing now with regular post.
By now we were done crawling and headed home to walk. This is Deb & Chappy but it’s not from this walk as I didn’t have my camera… obviously this is from a previous walk but the walkers are still the same.
Debs loot… can’t wait to see what she turns it all into.
Refueling time again… 2 slices of pizza and 1 eclair… and then…
Walking it off here… looking at this view…
8 p.m. is movie time on Saturday night… tonight’s feature…
which carries on the yarn theme of the day because look what Rapunzel’s doing…
And so a delightful Saturday in April comes to an end. By the way, Deb says I’m the best mom ever. Know why? Because with all the yarn crawls and visits to yarn shops and fiber festivals…. I don’t knit !! But she does and I love spending time with her.
- by Joan -
Aquinnah – Boats – Chappaquiddick – Dock – East Chop – Flying Horses – Gazette – Harbor – Illumination Night – Jetty – Kite – Lighthouse – Menemsha – Nobska – Ocean Park – Quilt – Rowboats – Senegekontacket sunset – Tabernacle – Umbrellas – Vineyard Map – Whaling Church – Xiphosura – Yard – Zacks Cliffs
- by Joan -
Branch Brook Park ~ Newark, New Jersey

Branch Brook Park is located in my hometown of Newark, NJ. Branch Brook Park was created in 1895 making it the first county park in the nation. It has the largest collection of cherry blossom trees in the world… more than Washington, DC and more than Japan. The cherry trees were a gift donated in 1927 by Caroline Bamberger Fuld. BBP is 360 acres and has almost 5000 cherry trees.


This year, 2013, the Cherry Blossom Festival runs from April 6 – 20, the Bloomfest is Sunday, April 13, 2013 from 11am – 5pm
The cherry trees below are along Second River which forms the border between Newark and Belleville.



In the tree below on the left is my daughter Deb and her dog Chappy in 2010 - on the right is Deb and our first mini-dachshund, Mustard sitting in a tree at BBP in 1979 .

If you’re in, or around Newark, NJ go and visit this beautiful park and enjoy the cherry blossoms.
- by Joan -















































































