The Chappy Community Center invites everyone to the annual Open House and Crafts Fair on Saturday, Nov. 30. Buy a new Chappy calendar, browse the crafts tables and sit by the fire with hot cider and cookies.

I broke the last of my 2013 New Year’s resolutions yesterday: I waited to the last moment to drain our summer house pipes. But where is the adventure in battling with wrenches and pliers with hands that have feeling in them? No, I choose to live the frontier life . . .  and then go inside to watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

I thought I had found a rather large and sparkling diamond on my lawn this morning, but it was only a chunk of ice left over from yesterday’s sleet. Oh nature, why must you taunt me so?

Sad news has reached us from Sally Sears Sinclair. She mourns the loss of her grandson Scott Graber. A full obituary can be found online at the Hudson Hub Times. His family suggests that donations be made in Scott’s memory to the Hudson Fire Department Association, 40 South Oviatt street, Hudson, OH 44236, to be distributed by the family to Scott’s passions. Our hearts go out to Sally and her family.

With Thanksgiving sneaking up on us on pointy turkey talons, we begin to reflect upon all that for which we are grateful ... which leaves us precious little time to brood upon those things that annoy us.

Since the derby is over and the weather is turning cooler, you may once again find yourself all alone on Chappy’s beaches. This week sunrise is around 7 a.m. and sunset is around 6 p.m. These are much more convenient times to be at the right place at the right time to enjoy a pink sky.

Anne Heywood has lost her knitting. And no, “knitting” is not a euphemism for “mind”. She was searching for it in all the likely corners of town and Chappy, but had yet to uncover it when she met me on the ferry. So if anyone finds knitting of any sort, please contact Anne.

Fall has always been my favorite season. The air dries out, the bugs stop biting and you don’t have to get up so early to see the sunrise. The pressures of summer are behind us, there is little chance that a hurricane will hit the Vineyard and as long as I’ve got a year’s worth of firewood under cover, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Big news week here! In deference to the federal government’s recent shut-down, Chappy has also suspended all government activities. All employees have been furloughed until further notice. This will hit the seagulls particularly hard as they depend on their weekly paycheck for dropping mollusks on the hoods of Mercedes.

An autumn yoga retreat sounds like just the thing to help prepare for the changing seasons. Amanda Cohen offers a yoga retreat at the Chappaquiddick Community Center on Oct. 12 and 13 from 9 to 11 a.m. on both days. She will move the two groups through breathing techniques and postures to help usher in the quiet season.

Join the land bank staff and take a guided walk of Three Ponds Reservation on Chappaquiddick on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. Meet at the Brine’s Pond trailhead at the Chappquiddick Community Center off Chappaquiddick Road and don’t forget your boots.