2017 Life Logs, Day 266: The Wait Continues
Date: Saturday, September 23, 2017
Weather: Overcast; High 64, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
The wait continues. According to posts on Rincon, Puerto Rico Facebook pages, people in that area are starting to find ways to communicate, but those people are few and far between. I have been contemplating flying down if we hear nothing by midweek, but tonight I saw that even if there is a rental car to be had, there might not be any fuel. Rightly, fuel is being reserved for emergencies. So plans for a trip will have to wait until I am sure I can actually reach Justin and Jo without using precious resources that cannot be replaced. Heather contacted someone on Facebook who says she is flying down on Tuesday and if going to try to get to Rincon. Heather gave her contact information for Justin, but that person might never reach Rincon. So, we must live each day in hopes that that we will hear good news soon. If Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco are safe, which I really feel they must be, they are still having to face so many decisions. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to think you might have to leave your home. But with the prospect of not having electricity and cell or wi-fi for a long period of time, this is something they must be considering. My heart breaks for them, but all I can do is to support them with whatever decision they make.
In the meantime, life must go on here. This morning I called to check in on the Goldstones and found out that Heather had to go to Martha’s Vineyard to moderate a panel discussion and Jed had the boys for the day. He had to take Sam and Jonah to a Scout event and then had to head off-Cape to coach Sam’s soccer game. He said Ollie’s cold was worse, so I offered to take Ollie for the day. I needed to get ready for a dinner party tonight, but I could do that with my little buddy. So, Ollie and I had another day together and I think Ollie enjoyed helping me get ready for tonight’s dinner party. It was my turn to host the Newcomers Dining-in Group that I joined in the spring and I had decided to have a paella party. Ollie helped me make non-alcoholic sangria and we both loved it. I used white grape juice as the base and put it in the Vita-mix with some blueberries to turn it red. I approached it as a science experiment and Ollie loved the color change. But getting ready for the dinner party took more than cooking. It took a bit of rearranging to figure out how to fit nine people at a dining table in my apartment. With the use of deck tables and chairs, it worked. The main dish was a seafood and chorizo paella served with a simple green salad with garbanzo beans provided by Midge and Bill Frieswyk. Before the main course, we had gazpacho that I made, fresh local clams provided by Karen and Peter Baranowski and then steamed in a Spanish tomato sauce upon arrival, and Manchego cheese and marinated green olives brought by Olivia and Terry White. All of this was topped by a chocolate fudge cake with a brandy sauce brought by Jane and Bruce Woodin. The food was great but it is always the comradery that is the most important part of the evening. I joined this group in the spring, but I was not sure I was going to be able to pull off a dinner for that many people in my small space. It worked and it was fun! And now I can stay in the group knowing I can do this. Thanks to Rich and Leslie Kole, my good friends in New Hampshire, for providing the paella recipe. I have seen them prepare and serve this dinner for dinner parties in the past, so although I had never done this before, I had a little experience from watching Rich work his magic in the kitchen. It takes a village.
Tomorrow morning I am headed to West Falmouth Harbor to help Bruce take Pooh out of the water for this season. He and Jane are headed to Europe in early October and tomorrow is the day their son Eric can help. So my morning will be spent messing about with boats. Not sure about the afternoon. It looks like Jose might finally be headed out to sea and we might get a hint of sunshine. That would be wonderful.
