2024 Life Logs, Day 100: Back Down to Earth
Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 62, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

It was almost midnight when we reached Cape Cod early this morning and stopped at the Woodin’s to pick up Shadow. Thankfully, Bruce is a night owl. Since we were in my car, I dropped off Heather, Sam, and Jonah, unpacked the back of the car, and headed home. So it was late when Shadow and I tucked in for the night, but we were up and out walking by 8 am. I had a late morning book club meeting, came home to play outside in the sunshine with Shadow, and before I knew it, it was time to take Ollie to saxophone lesson and then to soccer practice. In the time interval between the two, I went home to play fetch with Shadow. After soccer practice, Ollie’s day was not over. Heather picked him up and took him to his Scout meeting. I went back to the Woodin’s to pick up Shadow’s day bed as there was no room in the car last night. Then I headed home, downloaded photos from the eclipse, prepared for tomorrow morning’s Encore Board meeting, and then called it a night. So today it was back down to earth, back to a normal schedule, after the incredible eclipse experience.

2024 Life Logs, Day 99: In the Path of Totality
Date: Monday, April 8, 2024
Weather: Gorgeous Day, Not a Cloud in the Sky; High Temp 55, Low 40 degrees F
Location: Rangeley, Maine, Then Back Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

What a very special day in the life. Driving to the path of totality was definitely worth it. We drove two and a half hours north and west of Portland, Maine, to the small mountain town of Rangeley. There was snow in Portland left over from the last storm, and as we drove into the mountains, the white landscape backed by a beautiful blue sky with absolutely no clouds was stunning. When we were about 30 minutes out of Rangeley, we started seeing watch parties along the road. Everyone was in a festive mood. Jed and Ollie had arrived earlier with Jed’s Aunt Carol and they had found a perfect place for us to settle in and watch the ‘show’.

We were on the side of Dallas Hill overlooking Lake Rangeley with mountains in the distance. Just the view alone was gorgeous. We were parked across the street from the Rangeley Region Fitness Center on a construction site for some new homes. The young couple owning the one home that is completed allowed us and some other folks to park there. We didn’t know the other people, but as I learned, a watch party is fun group experience. There was food and music and joy in the air. Around 2:30 pm we saw the tiniest indentation in the bottom right of the sun. Little by little over the next hour, that indentation became bigger and bigger until only a crescent moon-shaped piece of the sun was visible.

You could see the look of wonder on everyone’s faces as they watched. As the moon slowly covered the sun, the light in our world dimmed and we had to put our coats back on as we could feel the chill.

The watch party continued with someone’s great play list airing loud enough for all to hear. Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire brought smiles and when Total Eclipse of My Heart played, Heather was jumping up and down with joy.

The light got dimmer and dimmer and then someone announced that the music would stop for a few minutes during the totality. We watched through our glasses as the crescent of sunlight became a sliver, and then the magic happened. The sky turned a dark blue, the moon totally covered the sun with a halo of white light surrounding the black moon, and the horizon turned orange as if it was sunset. Our world was so quiet you felt like you could hear the person next to you holding their breath. It was truly a moment of amazement … and then the light returned. But those few moments where you felt the world at peace will forever stay with me.

2024 Life Logs, Day 98: Sunday Soccer and Off to Maine
Date: Sunday, April 7, 2024
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy; High Temp 47, Low 29 degrees F
Location: With Heather, Sam, and Jonah at the Fairfield Inn, Scarborough, Maine

I spent my morning getting ready for the trip to Maine to see the total eclipse. I packed Shadow up and took him to Bruce and Jane Woodin’s. They had graciously offered to keep him for me, but when I got there, I discovered that Jane’s older sister Ann had passed away during the night. Jane already had a flight scheduled for tomorrow to go down to Tallahassee and check on Ann, so she is sticking with that plan. I felt terrible leaving Shadow with them under the circumstances, but they insisted. Jane didn’t let me know ahead of time as she knew I would never have left Shadow with them. She will be leaving at 8 am, but Bruce is not flying down with her at this time. So, Bruce was fine with keeping Shadow until I return late tomorrow night. My heart is with Jane and her family.

After getting Shadow settled, I headed back home. Heather was in Hyannis at Jonah’s soccer game, a tie, and when they returned home, the three of us headed to Taunton to see Sam’s soccer game, a 4-1 win. Sam rode to Taunton with a friend as we were not going to be able to get him there on time. Jed and Ollie had already left for Bethel, Maine, to stay with Jed’s Aunt Carol. After Sam’s soccer game, the four of us drove to a Fairfield Inn in Portland, Maine for the night. We didn’t get here until after 10 pm, so we all just went to bed. We have a lot of driving tomorrow and hope to get a good night’s sleep.

2024 Life Logs, Day 97: Happy 15th Birthday to Ziggy
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2024
Weather: Sunny, Cloudy, Rainy, Windy; High Temp 42, Low 36 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Ziggy Milo Handley was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico 15 years ago tomorrow. He had his birthday party today, and since I am going to be traveling tomorrow night, I am sending my birthday wishes a few hours early. Justin sent a picture of Ziggy at the bowling alley with friends. Ziggy was smiling so I am assuming he was having a great time. Happy birthday, Ziggy!

Today, I challenged my back, and it let me know it wasn’t happy. All I did was walk a mile, come home to do the exercises my physical therapist has me doing daily, and then stripped my bed to wash the sheets. The latter was the challenge. I worked slowly and carefully, but by the time I finished the laundry and started making the bed, my back was too tired to continue without a rest. It has been more than two and a half months since my surgery, but obviously I still need to proceed slowly. I think the back exhaustion was a combination of bed making and one of the exercises the therapist added yesterday. He now has me doing bridges which require lying flat on the floor, feet planted with knees bent, and then raising your back off the floor. I will miss my Monday appointment, so it will be Thursday before I have PT again. I am going to stop doing bridges until I see him again.

The other challenge today was the weather. It wasn’t horrible, but it just couldn’t make up its mind. It was sunny early, then it got cloudy. Later the rain started. Then it stopped and the sun came out for a bit. Then clouds and rain again, with the north wind blowing the whole day making it feel colder than it was. Just yucky.

So why will I be traveling tomorrow night and miss my PT appointment on Monday morning? Eclipse mania is the answer. I mentioned this earlier in the week, and now the time has come. My wonderful friends, Bruce and Jane Woodin, will keep Shadow for me, so I am all set to leave mid-afternoon tomorrow when we head off Cape for Sam’s soccer game. I thought Jonah’s game tomorrow was also off Cape, but it is earlier in the afternoon in Hyannis. If you don’t hear from me again until Tuesday, no worries. I will be in a car tomorrow evening after the soccer game driving to Portland, Maine, and in a car on Monday evening making my way back home. More than likely I will head straight to bed when we get home late Monday night. Sending logs will have to wait until Tuesday.

2024 Life Logs, Day 96: Sunshine, Exercise, and a Visit from a Friend
Date:  Friday, April 5, 2024
Weather:  Sunshine Mixed with Cloudy Periods, Still Windy; High Temp 44, Low 37 degrees F
Location:  At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Growing up in West Virginia, my mother always said that spring couldn’t come until we had an Easter storm.  Well, I’m hoping the storm that came in on Wednesday through Thursday (and the wind that is still with us) was our Cape Cod Easter storm for this year.  Starting Monday, it looks like we will have more spring-like temps.  We can always hope.

Waking up to sunshine has become a rarity, but it was shining brightly this morning.  I went to PT, came home to pick up Shadow, drove to pick up my walking friend, Olga Mitchell, and off we went to the Coonemessett River for a walk.  We walked 1.5 miles today and had a wonderful conversation with a gentleman from U Mass Amherst.  There was a small group of people working in the river.  We knew the annual herring run was nearing, so we stopped to watch to see what they were doing.  This nice man, in waders, walked through the water quite a distance to come talk with us.  He explained that they were putting in the equipment to count the herring once they start running.  Today’s crew came from MIT, U Mass Dartmouth, and Woodwell Climate Research Center.

They work with the Coonemessett River Trust to track the herring which are one indicator of the ecological integrity of the restored area.  Alewife and blueback herring will soon come in the from the ocean and migrate upstream in Cape Cod’s little rivers, like the Coonemessett, to lay their eggs in freshwater ponds.  Olga and I plan to walk part of the Coonemessett Greenway Heritage Trail at least once a week during April and early May to see if we might catch a glimpse of the herring.

On my way home, I drove my Menauhant Beach and just sat there for a bit to stare at the ocean.  I does need my ocean time every so often.  When I finally got home, I had lunch, read the Falmouth Enterprise I picked up on the way home, and then got a phone call from Andrew Dearman.  He and his family from New York were my ‘visiting’ neighbors when I lived in the cottage.  He stores his boat at his vacation home here and was in town to get it ready to tow back to New York tomorrow.  We caught up on all the family news.  The most exciting news is that Andrew and Laura’s daughter just got accepted into Tufts University.  It was one of her top two choices.  I am so happy for her.

2024 Life Logs, Day 95: Happy 17th Anniversary to Justin and Jo
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2024
Weather: Cloudy, Windy, Misty Rain; High Temp 44, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Justin and Jo have been married 17 years today. Unbelievable. I hope they had a wonderful day. Earlier Jo sent some photos of a cave in the mountains where they camped recently. It reminded me of just how beautiful it is in Puerto Rico.

Justin and Jo have carved out their little piece of paradise on the almost two acres of land they call Finca Maravilla. Ziggy will be 15 this weekend and Coco will be 12 in July. Happy anniversary, Justin and Jo!

I have been freezing all day long. Right now, it is 38 degrees F outside, but Wunderground says it feels like 38. The wind roared all last evening, overnight, and into today. It sure doesn’t feel like spring. But it was a good day for spending the afternoon with friends inside. Two other couples and I have formed an informal group that today we named the Vegan Lunch Bunch. The five of us are interested in exploring becoming vegans. Vegans don’t eat fish or any animal products.  I am just not there yet, but it is interesting to explore. For these lunches, the person who hosts makes the main dish and the others bring a salad and a dessert. Today we met at my house, and we had my newest favorite soup, a mushroom and spinach combination along with spinach and potato pakora made with chickpea flour and fried. This was only our second meeting and somehow both times we have managed to talk away the whole afternoon. Already, we are learning so much from each other while having great conversations about food and life.

2024 Life Logs, Day 94: Heather’s Meet the Candidate Event
Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Weather: Cloudy, Rainy, Windy; High Temp 43, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

On this rainy, stormy night over a hundred people came out for Heather’s Meet the Candidate event.

It was a wonderful mix of young, middle, and older Falmouth voters. Thanks to Bruce Woodin for the panoramic photol.The event was at Aquatic Brewing. I had never been there, but it was a great place for people to mix and mingle. Heather sat on the bar to give a short talk outlining the issues that are central to her campaign. It was definitely one of those proud parent moments. Vote Heather Goldstone for Select Board!

2024 Life Logs, Day 93: April Showers Moving In
Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Weather: Cloudy, Rain Starting Late PM; High Temp 48, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

I had big plans for taking the day off and just reading. But that didn’t happen. I have fallen behind on returning emails and spent most of my day doing that. And I’m still not done. Maybe tomorrow?

Heather has invited me to join them on a trip north on Sunday and Monday to be in a location where we can experience the total solar eclipse. Ollie and Jed are going to Bethel, Maine on Sunday and the Heather, Sam, Jonah, and I would head north for soccer games on Sunday and probably stay in hotel in Portland as Sam’s game is a night game. We will meet up with Jed and Ollie on Monday morning and head about 30 minutes north of Bethel to the ‘path of totality’ for the mid-afternoon eclipse. Then we start the 4 to 5 hour drive home. It will be a very long day, but since there is not another total eclipse that can be seen in the United States until 2044, we are going for it. At least, this is the plan as of now. The boys will miss a day of school, but hopefully this will be memorable educational experience for them.

Tomorrow evening is Heather’s Meet the Candidate night. Unfortunately, it looks like it is going to be raining, but I am hopeful that people will brave the rain to meet her and show their support.

2024 Life Logs, Day 92: Welcome April
Date: Monday, April 1, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 53, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Even though almost half of the days in March had some sunshine, most of those sunny days came with wind, wind, and more wind. The other half of the March days were rainy or cloudy, many with gale force winds, leaving me with the overall feeling that the whole month of March was a lion in weather terms. I am hoping for a gentler April.

I had my fourth physical therapy session today and now have a routine of 10 exercises I am supposed to do each day, plus walking a mile each morning and riding my exercise bike for 30 minutes each night. Today after my PT session, I picked up my friend Olga Mitchell and we walked the west Quashnet River Trail. When I dropped Olga back at home, it was almost 1 pm. Shadow and I then headed to Hyannis. I had to pick up new glasses and I did some shopping. By the time I got home, I was hungry and tired. I ate lunch and had a nap. So much for the first day of April.

2024 Life Logs, Day 91: Easter Sunday
Date: Sunday, March 31, 2024
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High Temp 53, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

In our family, Easter Sunday always begins with an egg hunt and ends with a family dinner. In between, we usually work on outside spring yard projects, weather permitting. Today we followed our usual pattern. I went over to Heather and Jed’s to watch the always fun Goldstone Easter Egg Hunt. The eggs were hidden in Heather and Jed’s backyard.

I forgot to bring the Easter baskets which are in my basement, so the boys improvised with paper bags—a perfect Easter basket for teenage boys. Jonah wore his on his head and at one point, Heather was wearing extra large Easter Egg halves on her head. They two of them definitely looked like egg heads! The Easter Bunny did a superb job of hiding the eggs this year and it took the boys a bit to find them all. When that fun was over, I headed home to start getting the dinner ready. I invited the Goldstones to my house for dinner this year to give them extra time to work on their deck. Yesterday Ollie used his lawn tractor to do yard clean up, so today the focus was removing the old deck boards and replacing them with new ones. The removal is hard work, so the replacement is going much slower than hoped. But board by board, they will get it done.

I spent my day in the kitchen preparing beef bourguignon for dinner. Grassfed beef needs to be marinated in wine for 24 hours to help tenderize it and then I bake in the oven in a cast iron stew pot for three hours before adding the vegetables. It is a bit of a process that basically took most of my afternoon. But everyone enjoyed the dinner and afterwards there were cookies to decorate for dessert. It was a fun day and whether you observe Easter or not, I hope you had a fun spring Sunday as well.