They might call January a month but in my opinion it lasts two years.

Yet we plugged along. Mark Alan Lovewell and Molly Conole have returned from a fabulous trip to the annual Catboat Association Annual Meeting in Groton, Conn, a few miles from Mystic Seaport. It was great fun. It was Molly’s birthday weekend as well. They enjoyed the musical workshop they presented and Mark won the Dolphin Award. Congratulations.

Our high school’s boys swim team won the league championship. Good going!

The new exhibit at the Featherstone gallery opens on Feb. 4. Lots of tantalizing new works.

Patsy Weaver Murphy and I had a nice chat on Sunday. She and her granddaughter Jordan are well. They are enduring the Virginia winter so we compared notes. They were saddened to hear of Jacqueline Baer’s passing. They met her and so enjoyed her art show at the Cleopatra Lounge three years ago.

A sad goodbye to one of our beloved Islanders, Leigh Rogers. Leigh was always kind. Always helpful. Always loyal. A very hard worker. He is greatly missed.

The birthday bandwagon pulled along Mercer Kelly on Jan. 30. And on Feb. 2, Joan Jannace takes the cake. Many happy returns.