The VIsitors

We have had some fun distractions the past couple of weeks...first Mr. Frank Curran of New York's Hudson Valley arrived, with enough art supplies and provisions (read: wine) to last through the winter. Hey Frank, we still have that last couple fingers of AppleJack left for you so you can claim the FREE shot glass! When he wasn't out painting with my Frank, or skinny dipping in the tide pools under Burnt Head (true story) he was making chocolate French toast for our kids, antagonizing me, or on the phone with his family, who were swimming with dolphins and other tropical things in Mexico.

Here is Curran waiting for the rest of us to suit up before getting going....i like the Mike Stiler seagull in the background. We were sorry to see you go Frank, but with your departure came the arrival of Margi, JoAnne and 5 out of 6 of their kids. Jo's teenager opted to stay home with Matt (read: hang with his friends)

What else would 5 kids want to do but find the biggest rocks they could carry, and dump them onto a frozen brackish pond?? Only 2 kids fell partially in.

Beachcombing on secret beach...kids each set up their own "shops" to sell and trade their treasures of sea glass and other flotsam, to the other kids who had set up their own shop to sell and trade treasures.If they hadn't gotten cold, we could have stayed there all day. me too. love to beachcomb.

Jr. Paparazzi, taking pics of us as we all said goodbye on the dock. i love the size of camera/size of Scott ratio.

And these were my most unique birthday greetings. thank you my boy, the legomaniac, and to frank curran the whittler.

this was my bday gift, a floatrope basket, woven by Monhegan resident Rusty, who's studio is in the corner of his very teensy tiny kitchen, where he is very organized, as you'll see here:

he's created a loom out of found objects. i won't give any secrets away. but very impressive. he also weaves doormats and square boxes, of all different colors. even takes commissions. of course, he has no website or email, and as we found out, you cant wait until the last minute to purchase something from him...on the way to the wharf, my friends went to purchase doormats, but he'd moved his stash to the other end of the island....

Getting back down to the wharf, Monhegan style.Thanks guys for coming all this way and bringing that infusion of Westville to Monhegan. It was sorely needed.