At last, a little snow in Aquinnah for the season. It snowed for about five hours on Tuesday afternoon with about two or three inches on the ground necessitating the plows and sanders, followed by 12 hours of pouring rain. Five weeks until spring.

Family and friends gathered this past Friday at the Aquinnah town hall to celebrate J’Leah and Luz aka ZuZu joining Dan and Wenonah Sauer and their sons Waylon and Amos making it the Sauer Six family. About 200 of their closest friends enjoyed the night “ofishally” welcoming the girls to the community. There was disco dancing with DJ Pinto Abrams. Lots of delicious food prepared by Theresa Manning and many others was enjoyed by all, and the best part was the chocolate cake with a topping depicting the Sauer Six! A fun time was had by all, especially the young schoolmates of the four children.

The first official meeting of the USCG Menemsha Spouses Association convened on Feb. 6, 2019 with Emily Hughes, Tara Longval, Fatine Othman, Valerie Parent, Meghan Smith, and yours truly as the community liaison. There was a lot of positivity in these uncertain times awaiting the news out of Washington this week. An ambitious schedule of events over the next few months has been planned. Officers were elected for the association and we all look forward to the next meeting. In the meantime, thank you to the Vineyard community and beyond for the overwhelming support of the families at USCG Station Menemsha over the past two months.

Fatine and I awaited the return of the USCG Station Menemsha crew that had been at sea for six hours on Wednesday while assisting one of the Coast Guard cutters. They had departed at 2 p.m. and returned at 8 p.m. to refuel at Menemsha Texaco, arriving at the station at 8:30 p.m. Needless to say, they were exhausted, cold and wet, and hungry not knowing that they would be at sea for that long while the investigation continues on the case. The crew included BM2 Joseph Belladue, BM2 Joshua Boytek, BM2 Leanna McKenna and FN Christian Santiago-Ortega.

The West Tisbury police department will be donning their aprons and cooking lunch for the elders at the Up-Island Council on Aging at Howes House on Monday, Feb. 25. The police will prepare a nice menu. Please call the Howes House at 508-693-2896 to make reservations for the luncheon if you intend to join in the fun.

Carl Crocker and Susie Crowley have returned from their winter vacation in Sarasota, Fla. and Puerto Rico, looking well-tanned and relaxed.

Amira Madison and her sister Camille arrived from Boston to attend the party for J’Leah and Zuzu. Amira has spent the past few years in California and is happy to be back on the East Coast.

Get well wishes to Ted Mayhew who has been a patient at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital and back again. Hopefully, he is home and feeling much improved at this time.

Sincerest condolences to Sandra Pimental and her family and friends on the passing of Paul Pimental while in California visiting his family for the winter. It was an honor and a privilege to serve with Paul and now with Sandy on the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services Board and committees. They were gracious hosts for many gatherings at their home over the past few years. Services will be held off-Island on March 2 with a memorial service on the Vineyard at a later date. Paul will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Sincerest condolences to Kay Mayhew and her family and friends on the passing of her husband Donald Mayhew.

My computer is still not feeling too well as is my cell phone. It has been a rather quiet week.

Happy birthday wishes to Jane Slater as she observes her special day on Feb. 15.