by Judy Handley | Sep 27, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 270—Fitfusion, Senate Hearings, Fun with the Goldpebbles
Date: Thursday, September 27, 2018
Weather: Most Sunny and Warm; High 72, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My day was all over the place. I started by going to a class at the gym that is new for me. It is called Fitfusion and is half spin on a stationary bike and half core strengthening. I have to modify the bike spin due to my left knee, but otherwise it was a good class. After the class, I came home and turned on the TV to watch the Senate hearings. I only got to watch Christine Blasey Ford, so I’ll make no comment about the Supreme Court nominee . But one thing is certain. History was played out on our TV screens, phones, and tablets today and it became evident that the divide in our country was deepened further. The reason I didn’t get to watch Kavanaugh was that I had to go pick up Jonah and Ollie at the end of the school day and then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening with the Goldpebbles. Heather and Jed were both at MIT in Cambridge attending the 50th Anniversary of the MIT-WHOI (Massachusetts Institute of Technolology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Joint Program. Both are graduates of this program and Heather was asked to one of the speakers. Jed said her presentation went well and he was appreciative that I was able to stay with the boys so he could attend. It was soccer practice evening which was made ‘doable’ by other parents who helped out. Sam was picked up at 4:45 and then Ollie and I left at 5:10 to take Jonah to his practice. We stayed and watched 15 minutes of Jonah’s practice
and then headed back to Falmouth to pick Sam up.
While waiting for Sam, Ollie had fun playing on the Morse Pond Playground.
When Sam, Ollie, and I got home, we quickly got dinner on the table and ate as soon as Jonah was delivered home by another parent. The boys had requested pasta for dinner. Sounds simple, but Ollie and Sam like meat sauce on their pasta. Jonah only eats pasta with black olives and parmesan cheese. And I don’t eat pasta! But with all of our different requirements, we had a great dinner and the boys ate voraciously. After the boys went to bed, I made Toll House Squares for Sam to take to school tomorrow. His class has a monthly birthday celebration for kids with birthdays in that month and tomorrow it is Sam’s turn to bring the goodies. My sister Patsy used to make Toll House Squares and send them to me during finals when I was in college. A couple of years ago, I made Toll House Squares for Sam and they have become his requested favorite.
I am now home and watching cable news to catch up on what I missed in the afternoon hearings. Not pretty.
by Judy Handley | Sep 26, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 269—Southwest Winds Bring Warmth for Today
Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Weather: Warm SSW Winds—One Day Only; High 77, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Two days ago I caved and closed all the windows that have been open all summer and actually turned on the heat. Then this morning I walked out the door and was hit with a wall of warmth. South southwest winds brought warmth for today, but unfortunately the wind switches back to the north bringing back cooler temperatures. I didn’t take full advantage of the warm weather today as I spent most of my day inside, but every time I walked out the door I loved that warm wind.
My time today was spent trying to catch up with life. I made a decision to not go on the Danube river cruise next fall and cancelled that reservation. I certainly made other progress but have miles to go before I really catch up. I put all of my focus on grandkids during the summer and let some of the details of bill paying issues go by the wayside. It is unbelievable to me, but two years after Mark’s death, I am still having issues with monthly bill pays going to old accounts, not the new. Comcast was threatening to take away my cable service, because payments have been going to my old account, not the new one. I have dealt with this two times previously, but was not successful. Hopefully today, I got the problem solved. Another recent issue had to do with EZ Pass. Even though I paid off my car debt after Mark died, I own the car but the title is still is in his name. And that means my EZ Pass is in his name with auto payments coming from his bank account that no longer exists. I got notice of this in late August, but didn’t have time to deal with it. On my road trip south recently, I was sure that red lights were going to flash as I went through toll areas. Today I dealt with getting payments rearranged, but I still need to go to Motor Vehicles to get the car title changed. Life goes on.
by Judy Handley | Sep 25, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 268—Tour of the A.D. Makepeace Cranberry Bogs
Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Weather: Overcast, Windy, and Warming; High 68, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Cranberry bogs are a common site here on Cape Cod, but today I traveled a few miles north of the Cape with a Newcomers group
to tour bogs that are a part of the largest cranberry growing operation in the world.
A.D. Makepeace Cranberry Company has 2,000 acres of bogs. That more than three square miles. That makes the company not only the world’s largest cranberry grower but also the largest private property owner in eastern Massachusetts. Makepeace is not new to the business. They have been growing cranberries since the 1800’s, but as was pointed out today, cranberries were here before people. They grew around the edges of kettle ponds that were formed by retreating glaciers over 15,000 years ago. Not sure how long cranberries have been here, but it was very special today to learn more about this special plant. It was also interesting to learn how our progressively more intense weather events are affecting crop production. And it was also very interesting to see that the way they harvest the berries is different from the methods I have observed here on the Cape.
I had so many questions, but left the tour early to head back to Falmouth to pick Ollie up at the end of the Early Release Day. Heather stayed home with Jonah this morning and I took over this afternoon. Jonah’s a bit better, but is going stir crazy and will hopefully be able to go back to school tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Sep 24, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 267—Sick Day
Date: Monday, September 24, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Windy, and Cool; High 61, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
For me, a ‘sick day’ means that I have a sick grandchild that can’t go to school and needs an Oma to stay with him. And so I did. The grandchild was Jonah who has a croupy cough and is extremely low on energy. Heather and Jed made homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Jonah, the child with an extreme sweet tooth, couldn’t eat one. That convinced them that he really didn’t feel up to going to school. They stayed with him all morning while I went to the gym for a much needed workout, and then I spent the afternoon and evening Jonah. It was Cub Scout night and Heather, Jed, and Sam all needed to go to run activities. Ollie is now a Tiger Cub and he went to participate. Jonah and I watched a soccer match between Liverpool and Paris St. Germaine, two of Jonah’s favorite teams. During the afternoon we played a very long chess game in which I was destroyed. We had a good time, and I will be glad to go back tomorrow morning if Jonah is still not feeling up to going to school. I have a Newcomers field trip to a Cranberry Bog tomorrow morning, but that can be aborted. In any case, I will be with the boys tomorrow afternoon as it is an Early Release Day. This is a very busy week for Heather and Jed, so I will be spending more time with the boys than usual. Heather is in Boston from Wednesday thru Friday and Jed is in Boston on Thursday. So Oma is on duty! And I love it. And before I left, I got to see Ollie dressed in his Scout uniform for the first time.
As with everything in life, he takes being a Scout very seriously.
by Judy Handley | Sep 23, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 266—Welcome Fall
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2018
Weather: Overcast and Cool; High 66, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The weather today was a reminder that the change in the seasons is upon us. It was overcast and cool and felt very much like fall. But fall can also be wonderfully warm and sunny. So I am going to hope that this fall follows the March pattern . . . in like a lion, out like a lamb. I spent my day puttering about and trying to get myself in gear for some work that needs to be done to the cottage before winter. I need to paint the front door, paint the railing that I had installed on the back steps, and paint the door I had installed at the bottom of the bulk head stairs leading into the basement. I need to get the roof and gutters cleaned. And as I discovered today, I need to go up into the attic and make sure a squirrel has not taken up residence. Today I kept hearing thuds on the roof. At one point I heard a thud and looked out the window. I saw a squirrel leaping onto a tree right outside the back door. The squirrel had to be leaping from the roof, so I went out and watched for a bit and did see the squirrel leap once again from roof to tree. But I did not see it leap onto the roof or discover why it was so busy on my roof today. So I’ll need to check the attic soon and make sure it is secure. I also planted mums which definitely made it look like fall in the gardens out front. While working outside, I went over to examine a small tree that in the past few weeks has been steadily leaning further and further into the driveway. The trunk is only 2-3 inches in diameter and it has gone from upright to looking like it is bowing with its head all the way on the ground. Upon close examination, I noticed that the tree is laden with small wine-colored berries.
Maybe those berries are adding enough weight to cause it to lean. I was not familiar with this tree, but in researching I think I have identified it as Elaeagnus umbellata which is known as Autumn Olive or sometimes as Silverberry, probably because the leaves have a silvery undercoating. This is usually a bush growing no higher than 11 feet, but it can grow into a small tree as tall as 30 feet tall. It is invasive, so lovely as it is, if it continues to fall into the driveway, I’ll have to cut it down. Lots of fall chores to keep me busy.
