NANCY GARDELLA

508-693-3308

(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)

What a wonderful staycation I had last weekend! I treated myself to the Mansion House’s month of January slumber party in glorious downtown Vineyard Haven. This runs through next weekend, $25 per person based on double occupancy with access to the health club and all the trimmings. At the last minute Nancy Gardella was able to join me. No, not Chamber of Commerce Nancy Gardella but sister in law Nancy Gardella from White Plains, N.Y. and Fort Myers, Fla. We started Friday afternoon with lunch at Offshore Ale, where I haven’t been in years, and ran into two friends of hers she met here five years ago! Pam Ray and Linda Hicks of the Martha’s Vineyard Inn, nurses who had helped her family with some treatments. We had a roaring good time together, and finished up the evening at the charming bar at Zephrus with the warm goat cheese, spinach and garlic appetizer. We played tourist all weekend, walked the streets and shopped, had dinner in Oak Bluffs at the Ocean View, and, yes, stopped home frequently to let the dogs out and check on their abandoned status. Thank you to Bill and Deb Little for going over to feed them every morning so I could sleep later than usual and take advantage of the complimentary full breakfast at the Mansion House.

On Sunday night I took Nancy to the Newes from America pub for her first time; she pronounced it charming. The staff at the Mansion House was so kind and welcoming. I saw many Islanders there for the slumber party. Many up-Islanders parked themselves in the lobby and watched the hustle and bustle of our big town passing by. Now, I have never stolen anything from a hotel room, not a knick knack, not a face cloth. But if I could have stolen something it would have been the mattress. I never sleep through the night at home, never wake up feeling rested. Is it the tsuris of my life swirling around the house? Is it three dogs and one new kitty curled up in my single bed with me? Nope, I realized, it’s the mattress, and Sherm and Susie’s are superb. I just might book again next weekend. Nancy was able to depart on the last running boat in high winds on Monday morning. I know she was hoping her boat would be cancelled; unfortunately, the boats after hers were. Same time, next year, or maybe next weekend.

Barbara Armstrong of the Tisbury School wants word out there that if you are the parent or guardian of a child who will be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2010, please call 508-696-6500 for a preregistration packet for kindergarten. It is not too soon. Registration will be held on April 2.

Believe it or not, word has come to me that Trader Fred’s downtown has some tickets left for the chili contest on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the P.A. Club. I hope the tickets are not sold out by the time you read this. Getting your hands on these, a fundraiser for the Red Stocking Fund, is almost as hard as winning the lottery. Good luck!

Our League of Women Voters is having a potluck luncheon on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. Judy Crawford is so kindly hosting it at her home. I’ll see you there.

Vineyard Haven resident Dede Hagen has been fighting an aggressive melanoma. At this time Dede cannot teach at the charter school where she has two children, one in first grade and one in fifth. Her husband has been taking good care of Dede and the kids, therefore he cannot work outside the home right now. There is an amazing benefit planned for tomorrow night at Mediterranean restaurant in Oak Bluffs, $20 at the door. The entertainment will be provided by Joanne Cassidy, and Jerry Bennett and the Sultans of Swing. I’ll see you there.

Our Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Network has a deadline for submissions to its Feb. 17 winter newsletter. Send anything you want covered, starting a new business, new offers from your biz, new team members, or a special event to: info@mvwomensnetwork.org by Friday, Jan. 29. Your submission must be copy-ready and artwork in jpeg format less than 100kb. I’ll have to get a teenager to interpret this for me.

The birthday bandwagon pulls along Donna Bouchard today. Tomorrow is shared by Lisa Jannace Meade and Yesmin Silva. Jan. 24 belongs to Katie Campbell and Eva Balbino Dias. Jan. 25 is for Bunny Davis, Kristen Pachico and Robert Burns. Jan. 26 is claimed by Shirley McCarthy. On Jan. 27 Jesse Steere, Emma Beach, Caroline Davey, Gail Burke and Fatima Silva party hearty. And on Jan. 28 Courtney Daly, Alyssa Rose Miller, Lou Natichioni and Sonia Balbino take the cake. Many happy returns.