by Judy Handley | May 14, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 205, Year 11: Making No Headway with Mark’s Nausea
Date: Saturday, May 14, 2016
Weather: Sunny and Warm, High 79 degrees F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
No matter what we try, we are making no headway with Mark’s nausea. The peppermint essential oil in the diffuser does seem to calm him down when he gets a wave of nausea, but it doesn’t prevent it. Tomorrow he is going to try the medication that worked the best in the past couple of weeks, but that medication caused edema. Or at least we thought that was what caused the edema. His ankles and feet are still slightly puffy, so maybe it wasn’t that drug at all. It is frustrating, but we will continue to search for the magic bullet. The next week is not going to be easy on Mark, but there’s really nothing we can do about it. Tomorrow we head out by 10 am to go get the U-Haul truck we are renting to haul the trailer with stuff from Windbird that has arrived from Little River. We have to drive about 15 minutes to pick up the truck and drive back home to drop off the car. Then we head south about 45 minutes to meet Heather and Jon and the trailer. Mark will be able to sleep while I drive, but that is not the same as being at home. We will have lunch with Heather and Jon, or at least Mark will attempt to have lunch, and then we drive another hour and half to the Cape to unload. I could leave Mark at Heather and Jed’s while they help me unload the trailer, but I’ll bet he will want to watch the process. We will spend the night there but have to leave by 7:30 am to return the trailer just north of the Cape. We will then drive the truck back up here to turn it in by 10:30 am. What a process! I am so sorry I have to put Mark through this, but it just has to be done. Unfortunately, he has two days at Mass General this week, and then on Saturday morning we move out of this condo. Once we get the furniture to the Cape, Mark can stay at Heather’s while the truck is unloaded and I will drive back up here to turn in the truck and get our car without him. I’m sure those little Goldpebbles will take good care of him while I’m gone. Maybe playing a little soccer will help the nausea!
I spent my day organizing and packing. My niece Lynn who owns this condo has been in the hospital and follow-up rehab for the past month, but she gets out on Monday. I have tried to get all of her things organized so it will be easier for her to do the final decision making on what goes to her new apartment. After we turn the U-Haul truck in on Monday morning, I will drop Mark here at the condo and go to the rehab center to pick up Lynn. If she is up to it, we will spend the afternoon sorting through things and making decisions. I will not be available to help her on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I’m hopeful that we will get most everything done on Monday. She has a lot of paperwork to sort through, and she can do that while Mark and I are at Mass General. Hopefully by Wednesday night we will be ready to move most of the rest of her things. Once all of this moving is done, I’m going to hope we all stay put for a very long time!
We did take a walk today to commune with the turtles, the geese, and the red-winged blackbirds. We haven’t seen any signs of the beaver for a couple of weeks now. When we move we are going to miss our wildlife friends here in Evergreen Preserve.
by Judy Handley | May 13, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 204, Year 11: Mark Visits NHPR
Date: Friday, May 13, 2016
Weather: Overcast with Sprinkles
Location: Back at Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Maybe because it was Friday the 13th or more probably because Mark’s morning routine was disrupted by travel, Mark spent a great deal of the day either nauseous or very sleepy. But regardless, he felt like he had a good day. At 10 am we headed to New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) where Mark was being interviewed for an NHPR history project. I stayed in the car and wrote emails for the almost two hours he was inside the station. I enjoyed the time to catch up on email correspondence and Mark really enjoyed visiting the station. When he was finished, Scott McPherson walked out to the parking lot with him. Mark hired Scott in the mid-1990’s to produce NHPR’s first call-in radio program with Laura Knoy, and both Scott and Laura are still there. They are the longest standing employees at the station, both with 20 years of service. Soon after Mark and Scott emerged from the building, Laura came out to say hello to Mark. And then Betsy Gardella, the president and CEO of NHPR that followed Mark, came out on her way to a meeting and it was wonderful to see the four of them interacting.
It was unfortunate that Mark had been nauseous all morning, but he did make it through the interview and was glad he had done it. After the gang of four completed their conversation in the parking lot, Mark and I headed back to Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg to pick up a couple of mirrors that accompany some bedroom furniture they are giving to us for our new apartment. Mark didn’t feel like eating much, but while we were at Alan and Helaine’s he did have some of our granola that we had brought with us.
We got home around 2 o’clock and my sister-in-law Sue and her husband Brad came by to visit. We usually visit with them in Boynton Beach in Florida, but they come up to spend their summers in Kennebunkport, Maine. They arrived this week and drove over today to visit with their daughters, my nieces Lynn and Candi, and with us. Unfortunately Mark was exhausted and simply had to lie down and rest while they were here. Then when they left, he actually slept for about two hours. When he got up, he felt much better. Tomorrow will be a quiet day at home and hopefully when is back into his daily routine, he will feel much better.
by Judy Handley | May 12, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 203, Year 11: Boating Friends, Here and There
Date: Thursday, May 12, 2016
Weather: Warm and Sunny
Location: At Home with Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg, Bow, NH
Today was all about boating friends, both here and down south where Windbird resides. Late this afternoon we drove to Concord, New Hampshire, to attend a Concord Yacht Club (CYC) meeting. And the very good news is that Mark had a good day and a great evening. He was basically nausea free all day. Yea!!! Yesterday Dr. Kwak encouraged him to try taking a very small amount (4 mg) of a corticosteroid called dexamethasone (Decadron). She told him to take it early in the day to see what the results might be. It is used for lots of things, but one of those things is to fight nausea. No one seems to know how this really works, but it did work for Mark today. He is still feeling weak and a bit shaky, but he was able to eat all day without being nauseous and tonight he was able to socialize and actual eat a huge salad for dinner. It is like pulling teeth to get him to eat a salad these days, so I was thrilled.
The yacht club meeting tonight was at the home of Sue and Eric Leadbetter on Gould Hill in Hopkinton, NH. Their house sits on land that was settled by the Leadbetters in the 1700’s and it overlooks a huge apple orchard that was started by Eric’s father more than a 100 years ago. But the view is not only of the apple orchard which is in bloom this time of year; it also includes a panoramic view of New Hampshire’s mountain ranges. You can see from Mount Kearsarge in the south to Mount Washington in the north. It is just absolutely stunning. And it is always so nice to socialize with the CYC group. Mark has been attending meetings since 1990. At that time, he was one of the younger members. Those ‘younger’ members in 1990 are still attending and are still young at heart. But age is catching up with all of us. A few younger members have joined over the years, but the majority now are in their 60’s or 70’s. When Mark joined in 1990, some members were in their 80’s and 90’s. So I guess you could say this current group is still young by comparison. But young or old, they are a great group and we always enjoy our time with them. Our good friends Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg invited us to spend the night at their house, so after the meeting we headed here. Tomorrow morning Mark will go to New Hampshire Public Radio to try and do some audio documentation of the history of the station and then we’ll return home. Sure hope that Decadron does the trick for Mark tomorrow as it did today.
This afternoon, our friends Heather and Jon Turgeon, picked up the trailer loaded with about half of our personal belongings from Windbird and headed north. Lynda and Lee meet them at the U-Haul storage place and helped them get hitched up. Earlier in the day, Lee and Lynda returned to Windbird to pack up all of our books and to empty the refrigerator and freezer. We didn’t know they were going to do that, but we are so grateful. They feel like everything that is personal is off the boat now. There is still a ton of boat-related stuff that we are leaving behind and all we can think is that when Windbird finds a new owner, he or she or they are going to be very happy with the bounty. We are still amazed and overwhelmed with the help we have received from friends to get all of our things packed up and brought north. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
by Judy Handley | May 11, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 202, Year 11: All About Moving
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Weather: Another Sunny and Warm Day
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
It seems everything in our lives these days is all about moving. Moving things from Windbird to here. Moving things from this condo to my niece’s apartment. Moving things from here to Cape Cod.
This morning, Lee and Lynda Kaufman plus Ryan (my nephew Tommy’s son) packed a U-Haul trailer with much of our belongings from Windbird. The 5 x 8 trailer was not big enough for everything, but through telephone consultation, the most essential items were included . . . we hope. Tomorrow, friends Heather and Jon Turgeon will arrive in Calabash, North Carolina, pick up the loaded trailer, and head north. On Sunday we will meet them a few miles south of here and transfer the trailer from their vehicle to ours. We will then take the trailer to the Cape to unload into a storage unit. We still have a hard time believing that this is really happening. Thanks to everyone who has helped with this move—Lee and Lynda Kaufman, Jane and Roger Bonner, Ryan Martin, John and Beth Schwab, and Heather and Jon Turgeon. The whole process has amazed us and convinced us that . . . it takes a village.
Wednesday is Mark’s infusion day, so we spent our day at Mass General. Mark continues to struggle with nausea and we have one more ‘experiment’ to try tomorrow. Dr. Kwak prescribed a steroid that she thinks might stave off nausea and give Mark a little energy boost. We hope it works as we are headed to Concord, New Hampshire tomorrow evening to attend a Concord Yacht Club meeting. We will spend the night with friends Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg and on Friday morning Mark will go to New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) to be interviewed for an oral history project documenting the development of public radio in New Hampshire. Mark was the general manager for 15 of NHPR’s 35 years and took it from a Concord-based public radio station, WEVO, to the state-wide network it is today. After the interview, we will return here to Lowell.
This evening I worked with my niece Candi and her husband Char to move a couple of the heavier pieces of furniture from here to my niece Lynn’s apartment. There are a few more things to move from here to there, but the bulk of the moving has been done. Our moving timeline looks like this:
Sunday, May 15—Meet friends with trailer full of Windbird’s contents and take the things to a storage unit in Falmouth.
Saturday, May 21—Move the very last of the things that my niece Lynn wants to keep from here to her apartment and then pack the moving van with the remainder of the furniture that will be taken to our storage unit in Falmouth.
Sunday, May 22—Move ourselves from here to Heather and Jed’s in East Falmouth.
Wednesday, June 15—Move everything from storage units to our new apartment located on Falmouth Harbor and move ourselves from Heather and Jed’s to our new home.
Then . . . unpack, unpack, and unpack forever.
by Judy Handley | May 10, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 201, Year 11: Wonderful, Wonderful
Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Weather: Sunny and Warm!!!!
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Tonight we had a wonderful dinner with wonderful friends, and Mark made it through the evening just fine. He did not have a good day today due to persistent nausea, but somehow he rallied for the evening. But then evenings are always his best time. And he so desperately wanted to go out to dinner, so I think he willed it so. On a convoluted road home for the night, good friends Tom and Detta Porat came here after their work day. They live near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the coast and drive inland to central New Hampshire each day for work. So this evening they drove south to visit with us before heading east to home. Despite our efforts to encourage getting take-out for dinner, Mark insisted that we go out to Blue Taleh in the UMass Lowell area for dinner. Blue Taleh is a restaurant specializing in Japanese and Thai cuisine. We ordered sushi take-out from there when our whole family was together the end of March and we were very impressed with their sushi. Mark loves sushi, so this gave him the incentive to make it through the evening. Mark and I enjoyed sushi and Detta and Tom enjoyed Thai. But more important than the good food was the good company. We love spending time with Tom and Detta, so this was a very special evening.
The saga of the packing up of Windbird continued today. Lee and Lynda returned to the boat and called us to do a storage area by storage area final check. Even with all of the boxes and boxes of things that have been taken off the boat, we have left loads behind for a prospective new owner. All of our books are still onboard as well. Some could be given away, but we have a number of books that I just would not want to part with. So we are going to have to plan another ‘assault’ to get books from Windbird and the remainder of the things that can’t be brought in this trip. The job is not completely done, but it is certainly miles and miles ahead of where it was a week ago. Lee and Lynda have done a herculean job of getting our things packed and ready to be transported north. Tomorrow my nephew Tommy’s son Ryan will work with them to pack up the trailer. It truly warms my heart and gives me renewed hope for humanity to see what people are willing to do for friends. Lynda and Lee leave next week for a 50th anniversary trip to Hawaii and then on to Portland to greet their first grandchild that is due the middle of June. They have spent way too many of their days packing up Windbird, but once that trailer is packed tomorrow, they can finally relax and focus on their upcoming trip. Thank you, Lynda and Lee. We have no idea what we would have done without your very generous offer to pack up the boat. I know you had no idea how much stuff a boat like Windbird could hold, but you have found her innermost hiding places and boxed up all those things. No easy feat. Thank you, thank you, from the bottom on our hearts.
by Judy Handley | May 9, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 200, Year 11: The Food Revolution
Date: Monday, May 9, 2016
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Windy, High mid-60’s F (freeze warning for tonight)
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
I mentioned in last night’s log that I was working on a summary of what I learned in the Food Revolution Summit and that I would share that tonight. Well, I started writing and I realized that it is just too complicated and controversial to address in this setting. And besides, who needs one more opinion on what we should be eating to maintain our health? We are all looking for the magic bullet, but I don’t believe that exists. You can go with the Mediterranean diet or you can go Paleo. You can be a vegan or a vegetarian or you can eat the standard American diet. We used to have the food pyramid to guide us, but that no longer exists. The federal government does make the following statements.
A healthy eating pattern includes:
• A variety of vegetables from all of the subgroups—dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and other.
• Fruits, especially whole fruits.
• Grains, at least half of which are whole grains.
• Fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, yogurt, cheese, and/or fortified soy beverages.
• A variety of protein foods including seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, legumes (beans and peas), and nuts, seeds, and soy products.
• Oils.
A healthy eating pattern limits:
• Saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium.
I agree with some of those recommendations and take issue with others, but what I do believe that I want to share is that no matter what you choose to eat, you might want to consider going organic. And if you eat meat, you might really want to consider buying only meat from 100% pasture-raised, grass fed animals that have never come in contact with feed laced with chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics. And you might want to consider the fact that greenhouse gasses could be cut by two-thirds if we all ate a plant-based diet. That would make a huge step in battling the effects of climate change. Of course, not all of us are going to eat only plant-based foods, but if each of us moved just a little in that direction, it would have a huge impact. There is no one diet that is best for everyone. What you choose to eat depends on your age, the amount of activity in your life, and your individual health needs. So relax and just remember to buy ‘real’ food (not boxed, canned, or processed), eat less of it, and work toward eating more plants than meat. Also, buy organic when you can. I know that doesn’t sound like a revolution, but if each of us did just that, it would have a revolutionary impact. That’s my soapbox plea for tonight.
Lee and Lynda Kaufman continued packing up Windbird today and we helped by pointing out hiding places. As Lynda said, boats have an amazing number of hidden storage areas, but she thinks Windbird has more than most. On Wednesday they will pack as much as they can into a U-Haul rental trailer and on Thursday that trailer will head this direction with Heather and Jon Turgeon. In the meantime, on this end we are moving a few things each day from this condo to my niece’s apartment. By the end of the day on Wednesday, we will have most of the furniture that goes to my niece’s apartment moved there. Then we will start with the smaller items. By the end of the weekend we will have our belongings from Windbird in a new storage unit in Falmouth. And next week, we will make the final assault to get things ready for our move to the Cape on Saturday the 21st. Two weeks from today, we will have made the move and will be living temporarily with Heather, Jed, and boys. Finally my mid-June we will move into our new apartment. I’ll sure be glad when all of this moving ends!
