Living

While new recommendations released last week on Covid-19 booster shots for at-risk populations are not a broad suggestion that all vaccinated people get a booster, they do extend the recommendation to a great many people.

Priya Kapoor Lasky started her business, Own Retreat, based on a simple question: If you desire peace in your life, why not create a dedicated space in which to seek it? She is referring to Zen, meaning a sense of calm, quiet focus, often derived from Buddhism and other philosophies in Asian and South Asian cultures.

The Star's Hunter-Gatherer has gone shopping for things that can be useful inside and outside. They'll bring the spirit of outside inside, and the comfort of inside outside — yes, you can have it both ways.

Last summer, I cared for several dozen future butterflies that were raised in a Monarch Waystation garden in Bridgehampton. Created by Cindy Warne, the garden provides milkweed for caterpillars and nectar-rich plants for butterflies once they emerge from their chrysalids.

"Historically, treehouses have been the setting for adventurous, magical escapes. Treehouses are also a timeless American tradition, an escape for 'kids' of all ages. Jimmy Carter even built a treehouse for his daughter on the White House lawn."

These small, sunny flowers, scorned by many keepers of the East End's rambling stretches of unbroken green lawn, are looked down upon as weeds — but at what cost?

Along with the benefits and challenges of keeping koi comes their symbolism of strength and perseverance.

Proper landscaping starts with a plan, which may involve a homeowner calling in professional help. That's according to Jeff Peters of East Hampton, who started his landscaping company, JCP Landscaping, in 1999. He works throughout East Hampton, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, North Haven, and Water Mill. Many of his 16 employees have been with him for 20 years. Mr. Peters shared some landscaping advice with The Star.

Like oyster farming, raising chickens is a growing phenomenon on the South Fork, with poultry practitioners describing a low-maintenance operation that has multiple benefits of the environmental and gastronomic varieties, with little if any downside.

It's not too late to join the crowd of East End house hunters. The Covid-19 pandemic may have kicked off a stampede of buyers, but real estate pros expect that demand will remain high long after vaccinations usher in herd immunity. That's according to Nicole Tunick, who works alongside her husband, Zachary Tunick, as a Douglas Elliman Real Estate team.

The Power of Stitchery: Nui Project and Sashiko
April 25, 4:30-6 p.m., LongHouse Reserve, $35/$25 members
In a virtual lecture through the LongHouse Reserve, Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, a leading expert in Japanese textile techniques, will continue to illuminate craft and textile design through discussion of ancient and modern Japanese stitchery practices. In rural Japan, cold winters and harsh physical work required sashiko stitchery, which reinforced textiles and made them both functional and decorative.

Tony Piazza of Piazza Horticultural Group shared a favorite recipe created by his grandmother, who grew up in Caserta, Italy. "This simple preparation was a spring staple growing up," Mr. Piazza said.

Mr. Johnson proposed at the Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge in Noyac with a ring designed using the same matrimonial gemstones worn by his mother during her 30-year marriage to his late father.

Anne Cooper-Menguy and Robert Marshall, Ph.D., of East Hampton and New York City, have become engaged.

Ms. Cooper-Menguy has been an interior designer for more than 60 years and has had her work displayed in Architectural Digest and Interior Design magazines. 

Hyatt Mannix and Matthew Thomas Powers had planned to marry at the bride's parents' house on Bluff Road in Amagansett, but the pandemic forced a change of plans. They decided instead to have a very small outdoor wedding on Dec. 30 in Jackson, Wyo., near where they live, with the stunning vistas of the Grand Tetons as a backdrop. The Rev. Alison Coplan officiated, and a reception followed at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jackson Hole.

The bride is the daughter of Gretchen and John B. Mannix. The groom's parents are Joyce and Jerry Powers of Paxton, Mass.

At Christmastime in East Hampton, the festive lights across town enliven holiday spirits. This is the story of one of those spirits.

Calls for change — for justice system reforms and an end to systemic racism — echoed throughout 2020 in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others. That is why, when James Banks of Southampton celebrates Kwanzaa this December, he will reflect a little more closely on some of the principles of the holiday — most notably, he said, "unity."

You can come from the depths of salt-of-the-earth New England and still know nothing of the East Hampton clam pie. I should know. I am such a person. I was raised in Newburyport, Mass., home to such icons as the American Coast Guard, William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator Magazine, and parts of the Underground Railroad. I grew up on whole-bellied clams, both steamed and fried, but, until I moved to East Hampton half a decade ago, I had never heard of them being baked into a pie. 

Christmas was a new experience when I married into a local family and settled in Amagansett in the early 1960s. Neither my upbringing, which was secular and Jewish, nor my college years or gad-about life in New York City as a young woman of bohemian leanings had been at all Kris Kringle-y.

Saint Augustine points to the early Christians’ tradition of celebrating Christmas in the winter as anything but coincidental. In the Northern Hemisphere, we have just passed the darkest day of the year and now move into a period of ever-increasing light and a new year brimming with hope and enthusiasm.

Bill Evans, chief meteorologist at WLNG Radio and the National Weather Service, was at least honest about the likelihood of a white Christmas on the East End this year. "Eleven percent chance," he said apologetically, adding, "That's why, when Bing sings, he says, 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.' He's dreaming of it!"

To light a menorah in the window at Hanukkah is to illuminate one's small corner of the world with hope. This year in Sag Harbor, for the first time in quite a while, a highly meaningful menorah will be lighted in the window of the Center for Jewish Life.

To give is to love, is it not? Especially during the winter holidays, and more especially when there is no expectation of getting something in return. Here are six ways East Enders can spend their time and share their resources to help their neighbors in need.

Santa's Little Helpers

You're not really thinking of throwing some big holiday parties this year, are you? No, of course not. However, it's likely that you may be stopping by friends' and families' houses, and maybe expecting some folks and kin yourself, for low-key, safe-distance entertaining.

At least we have the holidays to bring a bit of cheer. If you need a few tips to set the mood, the South Fork's musicians have no shortage of suggestions.

The Star's hunter-gatherer, Durell Godfrey, went shopping for "cozies" so that everyone can stay warm against the winter chill. Bundle up for a beach walk, or cuddle after walking the dog. Indoors or out, take these warm wishes, wrap them up, and share them. Remember to shop locally and drive carefully.

The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, is also a day that many people celebrate as a spiritual holiday, to gather with a small group of close friends or family and welcome back the sun. This year, it will be Monday, Dec. 21, according to the Farmer's Almanac.

The pandemic has ensured that this year many more stockings will be hung on the East End over the holidays. Whether you're hunkered down for your first East End winter or are an old-timer innovating traditions in light of Covid-19, here's how to make the most of things.

This year, haven't we had enough of turning inward already? And hibernating? Been there, done that . . . for what seems like forever. This should be the winter of not hibernating.

"This recipe is one of my favorite things to make" for the winter solstice, says Juli Everett. Not only is the soup delicious, but its ingredients are colorful, warm, and earthy — a perfect way to welcome back the sun.