Thoughts for Guadeloupe

My 4th Great-Grandfather Mahoney was a sea captain in the great age of sail. He brought a set of four chocolate cups and saucers home to his wife, my 4th Great-Grandmother from the now Irma ravaged island of Guadeloupe in the Leeward Islands, West Indies.

The lovely chocolate cups have now been passed down to me. They were a fixture in my childhood dining room hutch and I remembered my grandmother, Nora, telling where they came from. It sounded so exotic, imagining a sea captain from Lubec, on the far downeast coast of Maine, braving a sea voyage to those far away islands. He was originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, but unfortunately I don't know much more, not even his first name, but I have his image preserved in a tin type.

I thought of the chocolate cups and saucers this morning when I heard the island Guadeloupe mentioned on the news.. Hurricane Irma has caused and is still causing such horrific destruction. A small tribute to the damaged island of Guadeloupe seemed fitting along with my many prayers today. The tin types are of course my relatives, Mary Marston Mahoney and Captain Mahoney, the backdrop, one of my oil paintings.

For the Record,
This day came in with sun and clouds and cooler temperatures. Our handyman has been here to power wash our stairs and front deck by the piazza and our plumber doing a quick repair job. Raspberry helped the plumber. We had some excellent news after a relative's surgery, so it's been a great day for repairs all around.

All hands horrified by Hurricane Irma and greatly relieved personally with the heath news.