by Judy Handley | Jul 29, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 210: Travels Hither and Yon
Date: Friday, July 29, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny and Humid, Still a Nice Breeze; High 88, Low 69 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a take-it-easy day, in preparation for a few days of traveling hither and yon. I drove into town to say goodbye to Heather, Jed, Ollie, and Jonah. They left this afternoon for an overnight trip to Vermont. Heather’s good friends from her high school days at St. Paul’s School are gathering this weekend. It is the first time in years that all of them could make it, so she really wanted to go. They will return tomorrow afternoon and then leave again on Sunday for Maine after they get Sam and Jonah off for a week at Scout camp. Heather, Jed, and Ollie will launch Eider on Monday and sail her to Boothbay. Once they get the boat settled in Boothbay, they will return here for the weekend and pick up Sam and Ollie from camp. Then all of them return to Maine for a couple of days at Grammy Marti’s and then all of them will sail Eider to Buzzards Bay.
While they are doing all of this, I have made spur of the moment plans to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina. I leave on Sunday, day after tomorrow, and will return the next Saturday. My niece who lives in the Charlotte area has cancer and is no longer able to assist her mother, my sister, with her financial and medical affairs. My sister is 89 and lives alone in an assisted living facility. My niece is only 62 years-old and it is devastating watching her battle the dreaded ‘C’ disease. She had to have emergency brain surgery about three weeks ago, was sent home, had to return to the hospital, and is now back home again. But she is not able to walk and has to have round-the-clock assistance. So, this is not a happy trip. I just hope it will be a productive one.
I did have a happy evening with Sam. Since he works, he was not able to go to Vermont with the rest of the family. I bought sushi for us to have for dinner after he got home from work and then left him to spend the night alone. I could hardly do this, but he is growing up, and I have to accept that. But it really does seem just like yesterday that he came to Thailand with his parents to visit Oma and Granddad aboard Windbird for his second birthday. One of my most precious life memories is from that trip. During his time aboard Windbird, he decided that he was captain. We were out in the dinghy and Sam thought Granddad, the real captain, was going the wrong way. Granddad let him take over the helm and I got the photo of him pointing the way for his Granddad.
That’s our Sam!
by Judy Handley | Jul 28, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 209: Biking on Martha’s Vineyard and Chappaquiddick
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2022
Weather: Sunny and Humid, Nice Breeze; High 84, Low 77 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Sam doesn’t work on Thursdays, so all three Goldpebbles and myself took off on our bicycles this morning and headed for the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. Our plan was to take the in-town Falmouth Island Queen to Oak Bluffs, but when we got there the 10:30 ferry was full. We would have to wait until noon. I called Jed to tell him our plans were changed, and he suggested that he could drive Ollie and I to Woods Hole for the 11:05 ferry. Jonah and Sam are way faster than me on a bike, so they would ride their bikes and meet us there. Our cars will only hold two bikes and the van was in the shop. So, we decided to give this plan a try. It worked (Thank you, Jed.) and we were in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard before noon.
With slow-poke me and water stops, the six mile ride to Edgartown took an hour and a half. But we made it! We had lunch just off Main Street at the Rosewater Market and then headed to the waterfront to take the ferry across to Chappaquiddick. We wanted to bike the three miles to East Beach, but after two miles, I checked the time and suggested we go back to Chappaquiddick Beach near the ferry. We did and that was the best decision of the day. The boys loved the beach. Beautiful sailboats were anchored off the beach and there was only one person who had brought his dinghy to shore. We had the beach all to ourselves and all three boys decided this is now their favorite beach.
But all good things must come to an end. We dried off, got back on our bikes, and took the ferry back to Edgartown. We rode to the bus to speed up our return to Oaks Bluff, but the busses only hold three bikes. So Sam rode back and was waiting at the ferry terminal to head back to Falmouth when we got there.
He made the six miles in just over 15 minutes. Oh, to be young again! I was just elated that I was able to make the twelve mile biking day still in one piece. But slow or fast, we all had a great day. Unfortunately, I took almost no photos. I was too busy pedaling to worry about pictures.
by Judy Handley | Jul 27, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 208: Beautiful Summer Day
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Weather: Sunny; High 83, Low 68 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful summer day—sunny, but not too hot. I picked Sam up after rowing this morning and hurried him home so he could get to work by 10 am. Then Jonah and Ollie came home with me and spent their afternoon kayaking and jumping in the water from the Maui mat.
Ollie decided to try kayaking while standing up. Must be time for a paddle board.
by Judy Handley | Jul 26, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 207: Afternoon Sail on L ‘Escargot
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Cooler, Afternoon Wind; High 83, Low 60 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After days of having the window fans running constantly to fight the heat and humidity, I just now had to turn off the fan because I felt chilly. Yes, chilly at 74 degrees F. But with the fan off, I am fine.
Around noon I went to Heather and Jed’s to see what the boys would like to do this afternoon. As I got out of the car, near-by neighbor, Sam Patterson, walked by with his little dog, Wickett. Sam is the sailing partner of Bruce and Jane Woodin on their sailboat L’ Escargot and Sam was looking for crew to go out with him this afternoon. He asked if I would like to go and invited the Goldpebbles. I went inside to check and emerged with only Ollie. Sam doesn’t work on Tuesdays, but he had rowed for two hours early in the morning and then done some vigorous cycling, so he wanted to do nothing. Jonah just wanted to veg out, but Ollie was excited to go sailing. So off we went. Ollie has not really sailed except in his Opti since he was three years old as far as I know, but he seemed to know just what to do. He stayed on the dock to release the lines and then jumped aboard like a pro.
He watched Sam as we motored out of the harbor, listened carefully to Sam’s description of the best way to navigate with shallow areas on either side of us, keeping the red buoys to port (left) on our way out. It was blowing hard and was a little rough outside, but Ollie didn’t even blink. 
His job was to hold Wickett on our way out to Cleveland Light and then Sam let Ollie take the tiller all the way home.
He is a steady helmsman and did a great job. It was a fun afternoon. So, thanks, Sam Patterson, for the invitation. 
Ollie and I had a great time.
by Judy Handley | Jul 25, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 206: Happy 85th Birthday to Friend Olivia White
Date: Monday, July 25, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Windy, Hot and Humid; High 81, Low 66 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Tonight, was the monthly gathering of my dining-in group and we celebrated (one day early) the 85th birthday of one of our members, Olivia White.
Olivia is a good friend and an amazing person. Her role as a community leader is invaluable to all of us, and it so special to have her as a personal friend. Happy birthday, Olivia!
Dinner tonight was great—all vegetarian!!! Thank you, Karen and Peter Baranowski. Dinner started with a tomato, cucumber, and watermelon gazpacho topped with Rose of Sharon blossoms,
followed by stuffed zucchini, sautéed mushrooms, and corn on the cob, and ended with a chocolate birthday cake for Olivia.
This morning Sam returned from Martha’s Vineyard with a big bag of quahog clams. Then this afternoon Heather, Jed, and Ollie returned from Maine. Ollie enjoyed his weekend working on getting Eider ready to sail south. Next week, Sam and Jonah will be in Scout Camp. Ollie has another pottery camp, but I think he is going to take a rain check and go with Heather and Jed to sail Eider from Brooklin, Maine to Boothbay. I don’t think I will get to ‘meet’ Eider until they sail her down her the following week. Can’t wait.
That’s our Sam!
