When they filmed Jaws, on Martha’s Vineyard

Posted on June 20, 2025 by Sandra Hutchinson | Leave a comment

by Sandra Hutchinson

The blockbuster film Jaws, was released on June 20, 1975, fifty years ago today. I’m reposting here the article I wrote in 2023 about the filming of the movie on Martha’s Vineyard in 1974.

In the spring of 1974, a young 27-year-old director named Steven Spielberg began filming Jaws on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard. Universal Studios had recently bought film rights to Peter Benchley’s not-yet-released thriller about a killer great white shark that terrorizes the fictional New England Amity Island.

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum, in Vineyard Haven, is currently hosting a “mini-exhibit” on the filming of Jaws, on display until March 24, 2024. I had a chance to visit in August, 2023. Here are some highlights.

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Trade Secrets Garden Show 2025, Connecticut

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Sandra Hutchinson | 1 Comment

by Sandra Hutchinson

Martha Stewart has been quoted as saying “There are a few events that go on my calendar each year that I consider sacrosanct: my family’s birthdays, my summer vacation in Maine, my Christmas party, my Easter egg hunt and Trade Secrets.”

Having attended the the Trade Secrets Rare Plants and Garden Antique Sale this year, on May 18, 2025, in Salisbury, Connecticut, I can confirm that Martha did make an appearance, although she was just leaving as we arrived. But we did have a nice chat with famed interior designer Bunny Williams, who had taken Martha’s spot in the book sale and signing tent.

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Early spring visit to P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm; stayed in his “Garden Home”

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Sandra Hutchinson | 1 Comment

by Sandra Hutchinson

I’ve long been a fan of native Arkansan P. Allen Smith, who first achieved widespread fame with his PBS television shows P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home and P. Allen Smith’s Garden to Table. He’s a garden designer, horticulturalist, conservationist, lifestyle influencer and book author, and as I recently discovered, a really down-to-earth and friendly guy. (Full credit: this photo is from P. Allen Smith’s website.) By the way, he goes simply by “Allen.”

This March, I met up with my midwest-based sister, niece and grand-niece, for a mini-family reunion in Little Rock. The centerpiece event of the long weekend was visiting Allen’s Moss Mountain Farm, about 45 minutes outside of Little Rock, where we helped celebrate Allen’s 65th birthday (along with many other people who had bought tickets) with a lunch, and a tour of Allen’s home and the farm. As if visiting the farm and meeting Allen wasn’t enough, we actually stayed in his former home in Little Rock where he filmed his Garden Home TV show, which is now rented out by its current owners as an Airbnb.

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Five nights at New Year’s in Barcelona

Posted on March 3, 2025 by Sandra Hutchinson | Leave a comment

by Sandra Hutchinson

Two days after Christmas my family convened in Barcelona, Spain, for our annual tradition of spending New Year’s together, away from our homes. I had rented two, three-bedroom apartments on Booking.com — one for five nights in Barcelona, and another for three nights in Madrid.

Flying into Barcelona, I was on the right side of the aircraft (take note!) and had a great view of the city as we swung out over the sea and approached the airport. La Sagrada Familia is visible in the photo that is more zoomed-in.

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Belle da Costa Greene: exhibit at The Morgan Library & Museum

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Sandra Hutchinson | 6 Comments

by Sandra Hutchinson

Several years ago I read a book – labeled historical fiction – entitled The Personal Librarian, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. Published in 2021, the dust cover describes the book as “the remarkable story of J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation.”

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A whirlwind spring visit to London

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Sandra Hutchinson | 7 Comments

by Sandra Hutchinson

I’ve been lucky to travel to London a number of times during the month of May, when some of my favorite events occur. This May (2024), I headed across the pond, and spent nine days in the capital, visiting my younger son’s girlfriend who is currently living and studying there. To my delight, my son flew over to join us for the duration of my visit.

We did a bunch of things together, as their work and school schedules allowed, and I also did a lot poking about on my own. Here are some highlights.

Sky Garden

View of St. Paul’s Cathedral at dusk from the Sky Garden. The Thames River is to the left.

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Four days in Porto, Portugal, at the New Year

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Sandra Hutchinson | 4 Comments

by Sandra Hutchinson

We managed a quick trip (8 nights) to Portugal over the recent New Year’s holiday, with our family of six: my husband and me, our two adult sons, and their girlfriends. We flew from Newark to Lisbon, then a quick one-hour flight north to Porto. After four nights in Porto, we took the train to Lisbon, and stayed an additional four nights. Our time in Lisbon included a day trip to Sintra.

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Overnight at Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck with Mirbeau spa visit

Posted on December 10, 2023 by Sandra Hutchinson | 8 Comments

by Sandra Hutchinson

Periodically, my longtime friend Miss E and I (friends since seventh grade at Robert E. Bell Middle School) get together, stay a night or two at a nice inn, and if available, pair it with a spa visit. We’ve had wonderful stays at the Inns at Aurora (New York’s Finger Lakes region), the Woodstock Inn (Vt.), the Red Lion Inn (Stockbridge, Mass.), and as of this week, the Beekman Arms, in Rhinebeck, NY.

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Highlights from the Shelburne Museum — a few of my favorite things

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Sandra Hutchinson | 3 Comments

by Sandra Hutchinson

Every few years I make it a point to visit the Shelburne Museum, in Shelburne, Vermont. Spread over 45 acres on the eastern side of Lake Champlain, several miles south of Burlington, the museum primarily houses the eclectic collection of its founder, Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888-1960). The property is close to Shelburne Farms, the estate and large farm developed by the Webb family.