by Judy Handley | Apr 15, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 105: More Organization at the Goldstones
Date: Monday, April 15, 2019
Weather: Stormy Early, Mostly Overcast with Drizzle PM; High 57, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
What a stormy early morning we had. I had an 8:30 am physical therapist appointment, so I had to go out when the wind was blowing and the rain was pouring. There was even rolling thunder. And, of course, there was no place to park close to the entrance when I got there, so I had to walk a ways in the pouring rain. I came home after the session to finish my breakfast and then I headed to Heather and Jed’s to help Heather with her project for the day. She brought boxes and boxes containing years of Sam, Jonah, and Ollie’s school/art work. Every year since Mark and I ‘landed’ in Falmouth, Heather and I have talked about organizing the boxes that mounted with each additional year. Today was the day and we got the job done. Well, almost done. We sorted, recycling those things that didn’t need to be kept. We ended up with a pile of art work and a pile of writing for each boy. The writing will be kept, but the art work will be photographed and then recycled. After four hours of this, we were both getting worn down. About that time, I came across half a cardboard egg carton that had been made to look like a ship. It was flying flags and I said I thought I had found the Mayflower. When I looked more closely, there was a figurehead . . . and it was turkey. I think because we were so tired, Heather and I both started laughing uncontrollably. It wasn’t THAT funny, but I’m sure you have experienced moments like that. I will never, ever look at a picture of the Mayflower again without seeing that turkey figurehead. Heather had to take Jonah to guitar lessons at 4 pm, so we stopped for today. We actually got Ollie’s art work photographed and will have to do Jonah’s and Sam’s on another day. But in two days, we have tackled the two tedious basement organization jobs that have been put off for too long. I call that a WIN. I had all kinds of plans for things to do when I got home, but I actually sat down and started working on my latest puzzle and kept going until it was almost dark. It was then that I turned on the TV to check the news from the day. That’s when I found out about the fire in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. What a tragic disaster, but the good news is that the responders got the fire under control and have announced that they think the integrity of the stone structure will hold, that history will be rebuilt and preserved.
by Judy Handley | Apr 14, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 104: Warm, Sunny Surprise
Date: Sunday, April 14, 2019
Weather: Beautiful AM, Turning Overcast with Rain; High 63, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
This morning and into the early afternoon we had a warm, sunny surprise. It was sunny and in the 60’s. It was the warmest day we have had this spring, but unfortunately, it didn’t last. By mid-afternoon the clouds had taken over and then the drizzly rain started. But at least we had a beautiful start to the day. It was wonderful. I enjoyed a slow start to my day and then headed over to Heather and Jed’s to haul a couple of my things out of their basement. When I arrived I was greeted by the boys telling me that momma was in the backyard and that they were preparing a surprise lunch. I could come inside, but not into the kitchen and I was invited for the surprise lunch as well. Jed had to go to work for part of the day, so he was not at home to enjoy the lunch. At some point the boys realized they had to walk to the corner store to buy bread for the sandwiches. Once they got home and Heather and I were on the deck, our waiters gave us some choices for lunch. We put in our orders and lunch was served.
Heather was so impressed with the sandwiches that she declared she no longer needs to pack lunches. The boys can do it for themselves! Well, that was not a particularly popular idea, but it is great to know that they can if need be. After lunch, Heather and the boys had to go to a Scout commitment and I headed home, but I invited Heather to drop the boys off to kayak later in the afternoon and I invited them all to come to dinner. I headed to the store to get a couple of things I needed which turned into a longer ordeal than I planned on. The grocery store where I shop is on strike, so I went to the only other grocery store in town. It was jam-packed with people and didn’t have everything I needed for dinner, so I had to drive north to Mashpee to a grocery store there. They still didn’t have exactly what I wanted, but at least they had a substitute. I got home, put groceries away, they arrived, but they were determined to get out in the kayaks.
Jonah didn’t stay out long, but Sam and Ollie stayed out for almost two hours. I split my time between the dock and the kitchen. When it started drizzling, I spent more time in the kitchen, but the Sam and Ollie weren’t phased. It was almost 5 pm when I went down to the dock to tell them it was time to head in for dinner. By this time, it was raining a little more seriously and two very wet little boys eventually came inside. They stripped their wet clothing and headed directly to the shower. They were still in the shower when Heather and Jed arrived, but we finally coaxed them out in time for dinner. I love days like today. Nothing was planned. It just evolved. And it evolved into a very relaxed, fun day for all.
by Judy Handley | Apr 13, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 103: Rainy Day Activities
Date: Saturday, April 13, 2019
Weather: Overcast with All Day Drizzle; High 54, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Every night I check the weather and every day for the past four, the forecast for this coming week has gotten cloudier and rainier. At this point, there is no sunshine in the forecast. A lot of parents with kids on spring vacation are going to have to come up with lots of rainy day activities. I had talked with Heather and Jed ahead of time and offered my services for some of their spring cleaning and organization activities . . . and some gardening as well. Soccer games were cancelled for today, so this afternoon I attacked the mountain of hand-me-down kids’ clothing that is stored in the basement. There are the hand-me-downs from one brother to another and hand-me-downs from friends in sizes 6, 7, 8, 10, 10-12, 12-14. Lots of clothes! I took them out the bins that have gotten jumbled with sizes over the past couple of years and after five hours, they were all back in bins labeled by size and type of clothing. One job checked off the To Do List. Heather and Jed worked on basement reorganization and planning for the many gardening projects that are part of what will be a multi-year reorganization of how the various spaces in their yard will be used. I think the impetus for the reorganization is to make space for playing soccer in the backyard instead of in the front as it becomes barren by the end of summer no matter how hard Jed works in keeping the grass growing. The problem being that the only really flat area in the backyard is currently the vegetable garden. So slowly, the vegetable garden will be moved to deep beds in other parts of the yard and eventually the vegetable garden will become a soccer playing area. Yesterday 9 yards of garden soil was delivered and is sitting in the drive-way. Some of that will go into new deep beds and some will go into the boys’ dirt digging area. It is getting a facelift with new borders to hold the dirt in. Rain or shine, the Goldpebbles find things to do in that dirt digging area. And what else do they find to do on a rainy Saturday? A friend in Woods Hole called and invited them to come play soccer in the mud.
Perfect! Ollie is still not feeling 100 per cent, so he stayed home with me while I continued sorting and he played with Joey next door. Jed took Jonah and Sam to Woods Hole to play in the mud and Heather went to a late afternoon yoga class. It will be interesting to see what other rainy day activities they come up with this week.
by Judy Handley | Apr 12, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 102: A Day with Ollie
Date: Friday, April 12, 2019
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 51, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
A cold that has been coming on got Ollie down this morning and he just wasn’t up to going to school. Heather called to see if I could spend the day with my favorite seven year-old little boy and I was happy to do it. Ollie was a little sad that he was going to miss special play opportunities at school on this last day before spring vacation, so we came up with a list of play activities that we could do together at home. I took advantage of being there by bringing my laundry to do, but other than doing that, I spent the entire day playing with Ollie. Tomorrow should be a soccer day with two games, but due to the forecast of morning rain, those games could be cancelled. If so, I’m hoping to turn my attention to spring cleaning projects. Fun, fun.
by Judy Handley | Apr 11, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 101: PT, Tech Tips, and Farm to Table
Date: Thursday, April 11, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 49, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Busy day. I headed to PT by 8:20 am and didn’t get home until 10:30. I have only three more sessions and then I am on my own. According the physical therapist, I am doing great, and I have to agree. There are still a few weeks of healing to go, but I am super pleased with the progress to date. Mid-afternoon I headed to the public library for a Technology Tips class on using OneNote or EverNote on my computer and phone. These are just apps that allow you to take quick notes on one device that are automatically synced to the other device. Great way to keep track of things. I came home to have dinner and then headed back out for the monthly Newcomers Meeting. The April meeting is always in the evening and this one was especially interesting to me. It was entitled ‘Farm to Table’ and many of the local farmers were there as well as groups focused on gardening or growing plants for gardeners. If it would just warm up, I would love to start thinking seriously about gardening.
