2023 Life Logs, Day 277: Basement Redo and Sail on L’Escargot
Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Weather: Another Beautiful, Sunny Day; High 68, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Lynne and I spent our morning rearranging the boxes of things stored in my basement and then taking the purged items to the Swap Shop. I have a very difficult time getting rid of things, but it felt incredibly good to let go of things that I longer need. Then after lunch, we headed to the West Falmouth Boat Club to get aboard L’Escargot with the Woodins and one of their sailing friends, Martha. There was no wind at my house when we left, but it was windy on the dock when Lynne, Jane, and I arrived in West Falmouth Harbor. Bruce and Martha had arrived earlier to take the dinghy out to the mooring and bring the boat to the dock to pick us up. There was a bit of drama as somehow in getting the dinghy tied to the mooring ball, the dinghy escaped and blew into the tall grass on a near shore. Bruce and Martha rowed a boat club dinghy out to make the rescue. And in spite of the escaped dinghy and the white caps outside the jetty that gave us a lumpy, bumpy ride at first, things settled down a bit and we had a great sail. Lynne has lived aboard a sailboat and sailed most of her adult life, but this was her first time on a sailboat since 2018. Despite the rowdy sail, we all managed to embrace the beautiful weather and really enjoy our time on the water. Thank you to Bruce and Jane for the invite!

We ran some errands on the way home. One of the errands was to stop by Heather and Jed’s to pick up Shadow’s frozen dog food and to drop off some empty plastic bins that I had borrowed from them during the move. Again, it felt so good to know that Lynne and I had emptied those bins. Heather was giving Ollie a haircut when we arrived, and we had a short but good visit. Then it was home for dinner and to watch two more episodes of Drops of God. This is an Apple TV series recommended by folks in my wine group as it is all about wine. There are eight episodes and we finished episode six tonight.

Tomorrow we have no plans other than to find ways to enjoy this beautiful weather outside and inside, to go through my closet and get rid of clothes that I have not worn for years.

2023 Life Logs, Day 276: A Beautiful, Relaxed Day with Lynne and Shadow
Date: Monday, October 2, 2023
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day; High 67, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Lynne, Shadow, and I enjoyed this beautiful day. In between walks, we worked in the basement to try and get rid of some of my things that are hard to part with, but no longer needed. It is good to have someone pushing me along on this project. We also did some work in my herb garden which made me super happy. We drove down to Falmouth Heights Beach for our afternoon walk. I have to stop and rest my back while Lynne and Shadow go ahead and then come back to pick me up, and that seems to be working for all of us. Shadow is loving his longer walks with Lynne and is enjoying cuddle time with her. And Lynne and I are just enjoying having a relaxed time together.

2023 Life Logs, Day 275: Lynne Arrived
Date: Sunday, October 1, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny, N Wind; High 65, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

After many changes in plans and much anticipation, my friend Lynne finally arrived this afternoon!!! I am so happy to have her here and Shadow is over the moon. During most of the year, Lynne lives in New Zealand and pet sits. She loves taking ‘her’ dogs for long walks and today she took Shadow for one short walk and then a longer walk to go to Main Street downtown and back. He was one happy doggy after limping along with me and my knee and back issues this summer. I went part of the way on the longer walk but when my knee and back reached their limits, I sat on a park bench and waited for Lynne and Shadow to return. Lynne will be here until Friday morning. We have no specific plans other than a sail aboard L’Escargot with Bruce and Jane Woodin on Tuesday afternoon. We just want to spend a low-key week together, but who knows where our week will really lead us.

2023 Life Logs, Day 274: Happy Birthday to Heather
Date: Saturday, September 30, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Rainy Day Again; High 65, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Happy Birthday, Heather, my firstborn. One of my favorite photos of her was taken in the summer of 1977 when she was carrying a huge zucchini that she picked in our Minnesota garden. She was taking her job very seriously. By the time she was two, Mark and I constantly marveled at how she seemed to be able to make more sensible decisions than we did. She was like a little adult. And now she IS an adult with two teenagers and one pre-teen. How did that happen? The forty-eight years have flown by. Heather, I hope you had a wonderful day.

Heather got a special present this morning when Ollie tested negative for Covid. I didn’t get to see her today as I am still isolating, making sure I get no more exposures to Covid, as my friend Lynne Kirwin is arriving tomorrow. Since I am still testing negative and haven’t been around other people for days, I don’t think she’ll get Covid from me. I can’t wait to have her here visiting for a few days.

2023 Life Logs, Day 273: Granola Day
Date: Friday, September 29, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Rainy Day; High 63, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Other than all of the other things that happen in a day in the life, today was granola day. I love making granola and today I made a huge batch for my daughter. Her birthday is tomorrow and my granola is one of my gifts to her. I also struggled with my back today. Yesterday I walked more than I have for weeks and maybe I was paying for that today. For whatever reason, the back pain was back. So, I backed off and walked only a quarter of a mile. Hopefully tomorrow things will be back where they were before I pushed too hard.

2023 Life Logs, Day 272: Taking Care of Business
Date: Thursday, September 28, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 63, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

I devoted my day to taking care of business—took another Lego set to Ollie to help fill his Covid days, took car in for an oil change and tire rotation, went to the Farmer’s Market to buy veggies, spent an enormous amount of time on my computer dealing with fall scheduling, took time to have lunch outside in the sunshine, took the longest walk with Shadow that I have been able to do for weeks, spent time on the phone with doctors.. I’m sure there was more, but this was basically my day. I was thrilled that I could walk with Shadow for the first time in weeks and that is due to the arthritis medication I started taking over the weekend. The reason for calls to doctors was in an effort to get a prescription to continue this.

I am still testing negative for Covid. Ollie is really no better, but at least he is no worse. Tomorrow the clouds and rain return, so it will be a day working on the endless list of inside projects.

2023 Life Logs, Day 271: Dealing with Realities
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Warmer; High 64, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Last week when I called my back pain management doctor, I was told the first appointment was November 6. I took it but asked to be put on the cancellation list. I got a call yesterday saying there was an appointment this morning, so I took it. But after meeting with the doctor, the reality is that the steroid injections don’t really help and that means I either take medication to keep the pain in control in the hope that things get better, or I have surgery. But today the doctor encouraged me to continue taking the medication that I started taking over the weekend and get my primary care to prescribe more. In desperation, I started taking a medication that my orthopedic doctor prescribed for knee pain after my knee replacement in 2019. I remembered that I still had a few pills and since taking this medication on Saturday, the pain has become totally manageable. It is not a forever solution, but the doctor today said that it buys some time to let the herniated disks heal. And sitting around because of severe pain is not going to help. I need to be active, out walking, and the arthritis medication I have allows that to happen. But back to the reality thing, the herniated disks might heal, but not the arthritis and other issues. At some point, I might have to have surgery, but I am not there yet.

The other reality that hit me hard today is that we all have to sit by helplessly while Ollie struggles with Covid. He is isolated in one part of the house and Heather said it is killing her to not be able to snuggle with him. I tried to think of a way to help and remembered that I had a Lego set Ollie and I had bought for a rainy summer day, but never used it. I took it over, left it on the porch, and then I went to Walmart to see if they had other sets that he might be able to build once he is feeling better. I sent a text to Heather asking her to share the text with Ollie to get his input on which sets he might be interested in. He called me earlier today to thank me for the first set and I could tell by talking to him just how bad he felt. He called again tonight to tell me which additional set he would like, and he said he felt a little better. I am hoping things turn around for him tomorrow, but he really felt so bad today he couldn’t even build with Legos. The worst thing about Covid is the isolation. It is bad enough for adults, but for an eleven-year-old, it seems almost cruel. But that is the reality of Covid.

2023 Life Logs, Day 270: Make Plans, Then Life Happens
Date: Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Weather: Rain Early, Clearing Late Day; High 60, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

It is my very good friend Lynne Kirwin who always says, “Make plans, then life happens.” Well, that certainly was a truism today. Lynne was driving from Michigan to here when I had to call her to tell her that I have been exposed to Covid. Did she want to continue on? This morning I got a text from Heather saying that Ollie had just tested positive for Covid. I was there with the whole family last evening for dinner, so we were all exposed. I called Lynne to let her know. She was already three hours into her drive but decided to divert and stop in Nyack, New York, to spend tonight and decide whether to travel on. We talked this this evening, and she is going to stay there until Sunday and then reassess her plans to continue on to here. I have been so looking forward to her visit and hope that it works out that she can come for next week.

I went to my wine group gathering tonightbecause I tested negative and doubt that I could possibly be contagious at this point. But starting tomorrow, I will isolate and hope that no symptoms present themselves. If I am still testing negative on Sunday, Lynne thinks she will travel on to here to spend the text week. Let’s hope this all works out.

2023 Life Logs, Day 269: Lunch in Newburyport, Dinner at the Goldstones
Date: Monday, September 25, 2023
Weather: Another Rainy Day; High 62, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

My two days of doing nothing are over. This morning I drove two and a half hours to Newburyport, Massachusetts, to have lunch with friend Peppe Christianson and her sister Lynne’. It was a lovely lunch at the Tuscan Seafood Grille on the water and it was great to see Peppe again. I took Shadow with me in the car today, so he didn’t have to be alone all day. He did have wait in the car while we had lunch, but then we drove home, played fetch in the backyard, before I headed to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. I haven’t seen Heather since she returned from New York City on Friday, so we caught up on things and compared calendars for the next week. Tomorrow is an Early Release Day and each of the boys has a different afternoon schedule. I will fill in where needed and then go to my wine group gathering tomorrow evening. I thought it was tonight, but when I checked my calendar this morning, I saw that I had that wrong.

I will spend tomorrow getting ready for my friend Lynne Kirwin to arrive on Wednesday and hanging out with Ollie. It continued to rain today, but the rain should go away for at least a couple of days beginning tomorrow. I’m hoping for at least a partly sunny Tuesday.

2023 Life Logs, Day 268: Another Day Off
Date: Sunday, September 24, 2023The
Weather: Rainy Day; High 62, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

The rainy weather and the situation with my back called for another day off. I really did almost nothing today except read and watch television. And I did book my trip to Puerto Rico to visit with Justin and family during the Thanksgiving week. I am excited about that.
Tomorrow I will join the real world again with a trip north and west of Boston to Newburyport to have lunch with my friend Peppe visiting from the Seattle area and her sister Lynne’. Then tomorrow evening my wine group is having our September get together.