by Judy Handley | Aug 23, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 235—Flowers for Mama
Date: Thursday, August 23, 2018
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 78, Low 58 F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Heather and Jed leave a white board message for us most days listing jobs or chores that need to be done. Today the message told us to feed the guinea pigs, practice drum and guitar, work on book reports . . . and purchase flowers to plant in a pot brought home from Maine. This summer has been so busy that Heather never got the flowers planted out front that she wanted, so today Oma and the Goldpebbles were on the case. Sam stayed home to write book reports, but Jonah and Ollie were all in on going to buy flowers for Mama. Mahoney’s is our neighborhood nursery, so we went there. On the way, we stopped by my house to pick up boots for Ollie to wear and while there, Ollie and Jonah took on the job of watering my gardens.
Then we continued our trek to Mahoney’s. I told the boys to watch carefully to see what kind of flowers Mahoney’s has planted along the highway as those are probably the flowers that will best produce blossoms at this time of year. Both boys were very observant and then chose flowers for our planting project using their observations as a guide. Jonah was really the main decision maker and he added another guideline. He wanted flowers that had lots of bees attracted to them as he knew that would make Heather happy. We ended up with Black Eyed Susans and Veronia (Speedwell), a perennial with long spikes of lavender-colored blossoms. We got some Coreopsis with red and yellow bi-colored blossoms that I wanted to plant outside the pot and a pot of Lucifer Crocosmia, a lily with beautiful red summer blossoms that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. We know it is almost time for chrysanthemums, but we had a great time planting flowers for Heather that will help us all hold on to summer for a few more weeks. As I mentioned above, Sam didn’t go shopping with us, but he was instrumental in the planting process. It was a cooperative, fun morning.
After our morning of yard work, we spent our afternoon doing a little back-to-school shopping. We decided to go to Subway for lunch and that led to the decision to also do some school supply and sock and underwear shopping. The boys actually enjoyed this little shopping trip. Not an exciting day, but it was a wonderfully happy, productive day.
by Judy Handley | Aug 22, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 234—Camp Oma is Back
Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Weather: Overcast, Turning Sunny and Warm; High 81, Low 65 F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The morning was overcast and that gave me and the Goldpebbles a chance to slowly get back into the swing of Camp Oma. We stumbled upon a video on television called Big Pacific. It focused on various marine life throughout the Pacific and we all found it fascinating. While in Maine, the boys discovered World, a public television channel, and this morning we were searching to see if we could find that here. We found it and got immediately sucked in. After that, we played a very complicated board game called Caton for way over an hour. Then we launched into writing book reports which was not on a priority list for anyone but me. But the boys did it without too much complaining. If they write 10 book reports and submit them to a local bank, the bank will put $25.00 in a savings account for each boy. To sweeten the pot, today I offered a cash match. If they complete their 10 reports and submit them to the bank, I will match the bank’s donation. Then we realized it was 1 pm and we hadn’t even thought about eating lunch. The boys kept writing while I fixed quesadillas and after lunch, neighbors Molly and Joey came over and the kids played the afternoon away. Today’s focus was food pranks. I was not at all on board with these pranks, but the kids were having a ball and I just let it go. It started at Molly and Joey’s house where there was a whipped cream pie in the face and continued at our house with toothpaste between vanilla wafer treats. Each prank got a little more ‘creative’, but I’m hoping we will move on to something more productive tomorrow. Heather has asked us to declare tomorrow a home work day where we will work on beautifying the front yard along with some specific indoor chores. It is going to be sunnier and even warmer, so we might have to build in a little water play.
Thinking of my sister and brother-in-law tonight. This morning Patsy took Joe to a lung specialist for some testing and Joe got sick at his stomach and then passed out before the blood tests could be completed. The doctor sent him to the hospital Emergency Room and they found that he has a urinary tract infection and that he was very dehydrated. They started hydrating ASAP but decided that he should spend the night at the hospital. Hopefully a hydrated, and much happier Joe will return home tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Aug 21, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 233—The Goldstones are Home
Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 71, Low 66 F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Heather, Jed, and the boys returned home from Maine this evening. I had dinner ready for them when they got home and I enjoyed hearing all about their wonderful time in Maine. They surprised me with a gift from Edgecomb Pottery, one of my favorite little shops in the world. It is a small dish shaped like the cross-section of a nautilus shell . . . my favorite. It is beautiful.
And that reminded me of other beautiful things in my life today. The monarch butterflies that hang out in my gardens brighten my days even when there is no sunshine. I got a couple of photos of one on this cloudy day. So beautiful.
And then there is my granddaughter, Coco. For her birthday, July 30, I sent her something called a Secret Garden Hideaway Canopy. It took forever to get to Puerto Rico, but today Justin sent a photo of Coco sitting on her bed under the canopy . . . beautiful. I am so happy that she loves it.
Tomorrow it is back to Camp Oma. The boys just want to hang out at home and enjoy a lazy summer day, so that is what we will do. That, too, is thing of beauty. On the not so beautiful side of life, I spent a great deal of today once again emptying my refrigerator and giving it a full day to defrost. The ugly noise returned last night, but hopefully the day of rest has cured its ills. I also took my car in today for another check. I’m hoping the problem is an air bubble in the transmission fluid line. Stay posted on that one.
by Judy Handley | Aug 20, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 232—Last Day of ‘Vacation’
Date: Monday, August 20, 2018
Weather: Overcast; High 71, Low 62 F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I’ve really enjoyed my ‘vacation’ week, but I look forward to seeing Heather, Jed, and boys when they return from Maine tomorrow. During the past week, I had breakfast with my friend Jane Woodin, I spent a morning exploring parts of the Cape with friend Karen Baranowski, I went sailing on Pooh with the Woodins, and I hosted a kayaking and dinner party for my Newcomers Dining-In group. It was a good week. But it was not without some issues. I spent one whole day dealing with my refrigerator. I thought the problem was fixed until today when it started making noises again. It went on for about an hour and then stopped, but I know I need to empty both the freezer and refrigerator and let it totally defrost as there is still ice build-up around the evaporator fan motor that is located in the freezer area. Hopefully the defrosting job can wait until the weekend. And while I am on the topic of ice build-up, I’ll just mention that tonight I have on long pants and a long-sleeve shirt. The high today was only 71 and right now the temp is 67 degrees F with winds from the north and it feels chilly.
I spent part of my day today dealing with a continuing car problem. Last Wednesday the Malfunction Light came on and another light was flashing. I called Honda and they suggested that I stop driving the car until I could get it in to be checked. Taking the car to Honda means driving to Hyannis and then taking the bus home and I just didn’t have the time or patience for that and was going to deal with it today. I parked the car at Heather and Jed’s and started driving Heather’s Honda. I didn’t mention any of this in my logs as I was having too much fun focusing on the positive. Then on Friday night, Peter Baranowski recommended I call a place called Paul’s Precision Auto in downtown Falmouth. They were closed for Race Weekend, but I left a message. Yesterday I needed to use my Honda Fit to transport chairs back to Heather and Jed’s. I love my little car as it is like having a small truck. When I started the car yesterday, amazingly, the Malfunction Light was no long lit up. So, I drove it home after delivering the chairs. This morning I started the car to go to the gym, and unfortunately, that light was back. I went to the gym and to the chiropractor, and then I drove to Paul’s Precision. Paul checked the system with the computer and it appears the problem is with the transmission. Paul reset the light and sent me back to the place where I had the transmission flushed two weeks ago when I had an oil change. was done. They assured me they put in the right transmission fluid and think the problem might be a bubble in the system. The light did return later in the day, so I will go back in the morning to continue to search for the problem. Sure hope it is just a bubble and not an internal transmission issue.
by Judy Handley | Aug 19, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 231—Trading Swiss Chard for Hydrangeas
Date: Sunday, August 19, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 79, Low 65 F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was the 45th annual Falmouth Road Race and the cloudy, cool day provided perfect weather for the runners. A University of Michigan student Canada won the men’s race and a woman from Kenya won the women’s race for the third year in a row. The temperature today was only a few degrees less than yesterday, but the wind was coming from the north and that always adds a chill to the air.
I spent my day doing a little gardening, doing a little cooking, and visiting with friend Karen Baranowski. She came over with a bucket full of hydrangeas for me
and I had a large vase of Swiss chard for her.
I learned the trick of keeping kale,
parsley, and Swiss chard in a vase of water to keep it fresh from Jed’s mother, Marti. I love doing it as the bouquets of veggies are just as beautiful as flowers to me. But I must admit that I was very pleased to get the vase of hydrangeas. They are beautiful and make me smile every time I look at them. I have a pot of Thai hot peppers on the front steps that are also decorative and lift my spirits every time I enter my front door.
Power to the flowers and veggies!
