Chilmark stands this week at what I think we can agree is midwinter. Let’s hope, anyway, that half of it is behind us! It is a very quiet time here as things are pretty much closed up, and Chilmarkers are doing their thing, whatever it may be, indoors and warm! The Menemsha Café on Basin Road closed last weekend and plans to reopen in April after a general rest for all who worked so hard there since early last spring.

White ice covers the jetties and the dunes at Menemsha while the ducks and seals are enjoying the cold Atlantic on the south side. It is interesting how much the wildlife enjoys the cold!

In spite of my fussing about the cold, there are many meetings and amusements to get us out of the house.

The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club will hold its first meeting of the new year on Jan. 19. They meet at 1 p.m. at the Wakeman Center on Lambert’s Cove Road. Judi Worthington is the Chilmark vice president this year and will be happy to tell you about the club and the future meetings. The speaker this Tuesday will be Laura Coit. Ginger Duarte at 508-693-6570 has all the details.

Tuesday is a popular date night, as that is the soup supper night at the Chilmark Community Church. They offer a warm supper to all, serving at 5:30 p.m. The congregation is celebrating the official appointment of the Rev. Arlene Bodge as their pastor beginning in January. She is presently traveling in Egypt and the Amazon but will return to her duties in Chilmark later this month. Many remember that the Rev. Bodge held that position for a number of years but has been retired now for several years. The community welcomes her back to Chilmark.

We send condolences to the friends and family of Hazel Greenwood, who died unexpectedly at her South Road home last week. Hazel and her husband, Ronald, in recent years have been spending most of their time at their Chilmark home, only returning to Rye for a short part of each year. Hazel was well loved and well known to many, as she spent a number of years overseeing the shop Pandora’s Box in Menemsha. The shop belonged to her daughter, Jill, who was completing college when she first opened the shop, and Hazel helped out there then. Hazel and Ron had been married 60-plus years, and many of those years were spent mostly in Chilmark. Their daughters, Jill and Jane, have spent all their summers here, as have three grandchildren, and all have many friends on the Island. Sadly, their son, David, predeceased her. Hazel’s gardens and her skill at gardening were well known to many. She was always generous with her overflowing vegetable gardens, for which I, among others, was always appreciative. Many Chilmarkers will miss her cheerful presence amongst us. There will be a noon gathering at the meeting room in the Chilmark library for family and friends to remember Hazel and celebrate her life on Jan. 17.

I made an early morning call to Karen Flynn and was most happy when she answered the phone. She is very often in Haiti working with those in need there when her Menemsha business, The Bite, is closed for the winter. She told me she had no information yet about the terrible earthquake but was very concerned for her many friends there. We can only wait for news and hope for the best.

The Chilmark library has two film series this month. The Chowder and a Movie luncheon is at noon on Wednesdays. The next movie will be Mister Roberts and it will be shown on Jan. 27 at noon. All are welcome and there is no charge. The library also offers Family Friday Night movies at 7 p.m. with free admission, popcorn and juice. Tonight’s movie will be Captains Courageous and the next one, Jan. 22, will be the movie Big.

Mark your calendars for Jan. 27 when the Chilmark School will offer their annual concert at the Chilmark Community Center. It is always a treat.

Feb. 1 is the due date for the annual reports from commissions and committees in Chilmark. Budget hearings are being scheduled so this is a heads-up in case you are one of the many town volunteers who assume these responsibilities freely ... the rest of us appreciate your efforts in our behalf.

The Chilmark board of health has arranged for a Chilmark H1N1 flu shot day at the community center on Jan. 21 from 3 to 7 p.m. Shots are offered to all free of charge.

Jan. 19, Tuesday, is election day across the state as we choose a senator to replace the late senator Ted Kennedy. If you need a ride to the community center to vote, please call town hall.