Island Quiet

Cooking, collecting, walking, writing

Friends,

I’m living on Fishers Island on my own for a brief stretch while Teo is away, and it’s the strangest thing. This slender island is Teo’s childhood haunt and lifelong love, so I naturally consider it his terrain. But now I’ve found myself here on my own, working during the days and building rituals and routines in the evenings. 

Evening view!

I suppose you could say this about anywhere in the world, but the weather really does affect the mood of a place, and it feels especially true on an island, open to the elements from all sides. Today was a warm bluebird day, and after work, I lay in the sun and talked on the phone with loved ones, then walked along the beach and dipped my feet into the water, picking up a few pieces of sea glass on my way. But just a few days ago, the island was blanketed in fog, with that damp, bone-chilling feeling you can get sometimes by the ocean. I took a bath and spent the rest of my evening beside the fire, only rising to make myself pasta for dinner. 

Collecting

I thought this week would be lonely, but then I remembered: this solo time is precious! Teo will be back shortly, and soon the island will be flooded with people for the summer. So I’m enjoying this quiet, introspective chapter and finding the good in both the bluebird and grey days. 

One thing I’ve observed in my first week here is that island life will force you to cook. I obviously love to cook, so I don’t need forcing, but when you don’t have a slice shop nearby or a Szechuan restaurant around the corner, you have no choice but to cook for yourself. There’s one grocery store on the island, but the offerings and hours are somewhat limited, so it takes some thriftiness (and schlepping) to cook and eat well here. I’m learning the tricks of the trade by polling Teo’s myriad island-based family members; by the end of the summer, I’ll have my own strategies to share. For now, I’m figuring it out.

With that said, I’ve made some lovely things since arriving on Fishers, like…