by Judy Handley | Oct 27, 2021 | Cape Cod, USA |
2021 Life Logs, Day 300: Clobbered by a Nor’easter
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Weather: Wind Gusts to 55 mph, Rain; High Temp 55, Low Temp 49 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Forty-seven years ago today Mark and I were married on a beautiful day in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Today was not a beautiful day on Cape Cod. Starting last night around 10 pm, the winds picked up and the rain continued. Throughout the night I could hear the howling winds and when I got up to go outside with Shadow at about 7:30 am I was greeted by a big, downed tree in my side yard, leaves and branches littering the ground, and wind gusts up to 55 mph according to Weather Underground on my phone. 
Those gusts were so strong that small tree branches were flying through the air. We were out and in quickly to then discover that there was no electricity and there still is not. School was cancelled today, and many small businesses were closed. This is like an extreme winter blizzard without the snow.
My neighbor Andrew almost lost his boat when the boards holding the line cleats ripped up in the wind. 
He saw this happening and was able to run out to catch the lines. A little later in the morning, I helped him move the boat to his neighbor’s dock. But when I was outside that time, I saw that all of my outside furniture was blown hither and yon. 
As a result of the nasty weather, Shadow and I have spent most of our day curled up on the love seat by the front window where I can see to read. I went to the basement and got out my winter comforter for tonight and a heavy afghan to cuddle under. With the afghan over me and Shadow on top of that, I have been nice and toasty.
Heather and gang are among the lucky ones who have electricity, so they had Shadow and I over for dinner tonight. I am still at their house and will use their internet to send this log. But I have to say I was taken aback on the way here. There are no stoplights working in Falmouth, Aubuchon Hardware was close, Walmart was closed, and the two main grocery stores are running on emergency power. The latest update from the power company is that that it could be multiple days before we have power restored. Shadow and I will go home to sleep under that winter comforter tonight and assess just how comfortable we might be for multiple days without electricity. There is no school again tomorrow, so I will head this way in the morning to unload my freezer contents into Heather and Jed’s freezer and see what I can do with the boys as both Heather and Jed have busy work days tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Oct 26, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 299: Rainy Tuesday
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Weather: Heavy Rain Overnight, Today Overcast with Periods of Light Rain; High Temp 64, Low Temp 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I went to bed when it was pouring rain and thunder. During the night it sounded like torrential rains coming down, but by 7:30 am it sounded calm outside. So, Shadow and I got up for our first foray outside for the morning. Indeed, the rain had stopped, so we walked the first loop of our morning mile. We came home and I checked the weather. It looked like we might not get rain again until the afternoon, so I had my smoothie, and we took off for the second half of our mile. About that time, I got a text from my summer neighbor Andrew who lives with his family just north of Manhattan the rest of the year. He got a high-water alarm from a sensor in his garage here and asked me to check it out. Shadow and I were headed that way, so we stopped and found that if there had been high water in the garage, it was now all but gone. However, it was evident that some water had come in, so I told Andrew I would line the left side of the garage door, the side that is not well sealed, with sandbags when I got back from my walk with Shadow. Just as we were completing that job, I heard from Andrew that he was going to drive up this afternoon and replace the garage door seal. About an hour ago he came over to borrow some tools as he is still struggling to get that new seal in place. I haven’t heard from him since so I sure hope he was successful.
Good friend Jane Woodin had a total knee replacement today and is doing great. The PT told her that tomorrow might not be quite as pain free, but hopefully she will continue to do well. If all goes as planned, she will be headed home tomorrow. Healing thoughts coming your way, Jane.
I wrangled with my computer for much of the afternoon. For days, I have been getting a daily message from Google saying ‘backup and sync’ is no longer working and that I needed to download ‘Google Drive for your desktop’. I have tried with no success, but today I stayed with it and finally got it downloaded. Then my computer spent the remainder of the afternoon and early evening syncing my files with the files in the cloud.
I went to the grocery store and did some cooking while waiting for my computer to finish syncing with the cloud. And that was about it for my day. It looks like rain overnight and all day tomorrow, so I am planning to work on photo organization. Nothing exciting, but something I have been trying to get to for months.
by Judy Handley | Oct 25, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 298: Fickle Weather
Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
Weather: Rain, No Rain, Thunderstorms; High Temp 70, Low Temp 61 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
When Shadow and I got up and went outside early this morning, it was cool and rainy. An hour later when we went to his annual health check-up, the rain had stopped, but it was overcast and still felt cool. By noon when we went for a long walk, it was clearing and warming. Then at 3:30 pm when I headed to Sam’s soccer game, it was sunny and warm. As I write this log, it is pouring rain with thunder and some lightening. The weather just can’t make up its mind. It is simply fickle. But I am so happy that it stopped raining which allowed Sam’s soccer game to go on this afternoon. This was my last chance to see him play this season. 
He did get to play, but after the game he expressed his frustration with having to play a forward position rather than backfield defense. Regardless, he made some really nice plays, and his team won the game. All good.
I took Sam home after the game and delivered a pumpkin pie I made today for ‘review’. This pie was dairy and sugar free and was made with coconut crème and maple syrup. I baked some in a small glass container so I could do my taste test. I thought it was acceptable but a little too sweet and not as firm as I prefer. But it was good. If I make it with a gluten-free crust, it might make the grade for Thanksgiving. I am anxious to see what Ollie, our resident pumpkin pie expert, has to say.
by Judy Handley | Oct 24, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 297: Goldstones Come for Sunday Dinner
Date: Sunday, October 24, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Cool; High Temp 57, Low Temp 47 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After our whirlwind weekend, Shadow and I had a quiet day at home. We invited Heather, Jed, and the boys over for dinner and I spent much of the afternoon preparing for that. This morning I had a nice, long telephone conversation with friend Helaine Kanegsberg, took Shadow for a long walk, and then headed out to do some food shopping. I bought pulled pork at Wicked and Wood, the nearby weekend barbecue take-out and went to the grocery store to get a few items.
The gang arrived around 6 pm and they spent some time getting me caught up on their happenings this weekend. Jed and Ollie went on a Cub Scout camp out this weekend, Sam had a soccer game yesterday and got to play for much of the game now that the ankle and knee injuries are healing, and today Heather took Jonah to play in a soccer game in Smithfield, Rhode Island. We had pulled pork on homemade buns with red cabbage slaw, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli for dinner, followed by chocolate pie and whipped cream for dessert.
I don’t have much on my calendar for the upcoming week, but it is a busy one for the Goldstones starting with a high school soccer game tomorrow. That will be the last game I will get to see of Sam’s as the last high school home game of the season is on Thursday. I will be taking Jonah to soccer practice on Thursday and won’t get to see that one. Then starting with a Halloween parade at Ollie’s school on Friday afternoon, there is a weekend of activities to attend, ending with Halloween Trick or Treat on Sunday evening.
Last, but certainly not least, I want to send belated 75th birthday wishes to my dear friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand. I am absolutely terrible about remembering birthdays, so Lynne had to send me a reminder yesterday. Her birthday was on Friday and friends had a party for her. She sent me the photo of her with the birthday cake they made. When I saw the whipped cream on top, I just knew she did not partake. And she didn’t! She is so good about never eating anything she feels is not healthy. I wish I had her resolve. Belated as it is . . . Happy Birthday, Lynne.
by Judy Handley | Oct 23, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 296: Visit with Tom and Detta Porat
Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Cooler; High Temp 56, Low Temp 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I just home from my whirlwind visit with friends in New Hampshire. It was wonderful to visit with Leslie and then Detta and Tom, but on the way home I realized that next time I will spend an extra night and start home earlier in the day. I had to fight falling asleep at the wheel late this afternoon, so I won’t risk that again!
Other than having trouble staying awake on the way home, I had a wonderful two days in New Hampshire. Detta, Tom, and I talked late into the night last night, but morning came too soon. The dogs were up bright and early and ready for a walk. Detta made a great strawberry smoothie for us for breakfast and then she and I took off for Wagon Hill Farm in nearby Durham. The 40-acre farm is owned by the city of Durham, and it is truly a wonderful public property. 
It has extensive community gardens, field after field of wild plants, beautiful walks through the woods that lead down to various viewpoints of the Oyster River, open areas where the dogs ran and played, and a walk up to Wagon Hill and beyond.
It is called Wagon Hill because there is a wagon on top of the hill. The old wagon has been updated a few times and is now brightly painted. 
We walked much of the property, but we stopped at the wagon to get photos and didn’t do the ‘beyond’. Another time.
When we got home, Tom and I talked while Detta fixed lunch. Tom told me the story of how Wagon Hill became a city property. It was a family-owned active farm for almost 300 years. It was passed from family to family, from the mid-1600’s onward until the 1980’s when it was about to be sold to an oil company for development. The city of Durham stepped in to stop the development by buying the property and making it available to the public. That was a wonderful ‘save’ for the people of the Durham area. Tom also shared some photos with me that he has taken of the Great Bay wildlife during the winter months when the bay is frozen over. The photos of Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles were impressive. 
As was lunch. Detta served baked salmon with a lemon cilantro sauce along with quinoa and fresh green beans. Delicious.
It was a special two-day visit and Shadow really behaved himself. I didn’t need his day bed or his crate. Other than jumping up on people, his specialty, he was a little gentleman. And he had a great time with Quinn and Addie. Thanks to Detta and Tom and to Leslie for hosting us.
Those gusts were so strong that small tree branches were flying through the air. We were out and in quickly to then discover that there was no electricity and there still is not. School was cancelled today, and many small businesses were closed. This is like an extreme winter blizzard without the snow. 
He saw this happening and was able to run out to catch the lines. A little later in the morning, I helped him move the boat to his neighbor’s dock. But when I was outside that time, I saw that all of my outside furniture was blown hither and yon. 
As a result of the nasty weather, Shadow and I have spent most of our day curled up on the love seat by the front window where I can see to read. I went to the basement and got out my winter comforter for tonight and a heavy afghan to cuddle under. With the afghan over me and Shadow on top of that, I have been nice and toasty.
