by Judy Handley | Mar 9, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 139, Year 11: Dinner with Friends
Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Weather: Sunny and 80 degrees F!!!
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
It was 80 degrees here today. Wahoo!!! But otherwise today was quiet until about 2:30 pm when I got a call from friend Tom Porat. I had just sent an email to Tom and to Detta giving them directions for getting here for dinner tomorrow night. Tom called to say that they thought they were coming to dinner tonight. Evidently Detta had sent a text yesterday asking to change the dinner date to this evening. I totally missed that text, so the mix-up was totally my fault. I told Tom I’d pull things together and we’d be ready when they got here at 5:30 pm. But getting ready meant going to the store to buy the fish for dinner. Should be easy, right? Wrong. The Google Maps app on my phone could not connect, so I had to drive from here to the supermarket in Nashua, NH, from memory. We’ve only driven the backroads to there one time and I got ‘a little lost’ on the way there. But I was able to figure it out after only a couple of wrong turns. The trip home was not so easy, however. I got really lost and finally had to stop and ask a young couple to help me. Unfortunately, they were visiting in Lowell and had no idea how to help me. It was a very warm afternoon and everyone had their car windows rolled down. A guy in a car that rolled up to the stop sign heard my plea and told me to follow him. This guy was straight out of the 1950’s—white t-shirt with a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve. Haven’t seen that for years. This kind man drove way out of his way to get me on the right path. Thank you, Mr. 1950’s!
So I did find my way home and I got dinner under control. Tom and Detta arrived and we had a great evening together. It is so nice to be close enough to get together with our New Hampshire friends. And speaking of friends, thanks to those of you who sent emails of support to us after reading last night’s log about putting Windbird on the market. I think our son Justin pegged the problem when he said, “It is good to be sad about moving on to a new part of life – means you’ve been having a great time.” And a good time we have been having living aboard Windbird for the past twelve years. And then our daughter Heather emailed telling us that the Goldstones will do their best to make life on land “as much fun as possible.” No need to be sad with promises like that.
by Judy Handley | Mar 8, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 138, Year 11: Belated Birthday Confession
Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, High upper-50’s, Low upper-30’s F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
I celebrated my 69th birthday on Saturday, but something much more momentous than my birthday happened on that day. I just have not had the strength to talk about. Windbird, that beautiful sailboat that we have called home for almost thirteen years, went on the market on Saturday. This is something that we have talked about, but in my mind it always seemed to be something that would happen in the future . . . not now. As the person who never thought she could live on a sailboat, much less sail around the world, it seems particularly ironic that I am the one who has resisted any thought of ending our life aboard Windbird. But the time has come and I am working hard to get with the program. Mark and I had a wonderful life before Windbird came along. But when Mark and I added a third partner to our relationship, our beloved Windbird, she took us to new levels. It is really hard to explain how a person can be so attached to an inanimate object, but Windbird is strong, she is forgiving, she has traveled over 45,000 miles around the world with us, protecting us all the way, and she has never, ever disappointed. If she doesn’t sell right away, I will still find a crew to sail her back to Cape Cod for the summer. But once the summer is over, Mark and I will find a place to live on land. I have loved the cruising life and am not looking forward to life on land, but I’m sure I will somehow relearn the joys of land living. I’m relying on you, those die hard family members and friends who have stuck with us throughout the Voyage of Windbird, to support us through this next transition.
A friend from Lightkeepers in Little River is our sales agent. John Schwab with Triton Yacht Sales is our broker. When we left Windbird in Little River on February 25th, I had no idea that we would be putting Windbird up for sale before I returned to sail her north in May. I left her looking very lived in. When I looked at the photos that John has taken of the interior of the boat for the listing, I actually laughed out loud. The bag of clothes pins is still sitting on the nav station and a winter’s worth of toilet paper is still in the hanging bag in the v-berth. I did not leave the boat in any shape to be shown to prospective buyers. But John has worked to make her look as good as possible in that situation. Thank you, John! And if anyone does come to look at Windbird, they can rest assured that nothing has been hidden. I’m copying the link to the listing below in case you are interested in taking a peak. Now I just need to figure out how to adjust to life on land. If you have any good suggestions, please send them my way.
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/pl_boat_full_detail.jsp?slim=broker&boat_id=2942393&ybw=&hosturl=tritonyachts&&ywo=tritonyachts&&units=Feet&access=Public&listing_id=1904&url=&hosturl=tritonyachts&&ywo=tritonyachts&
by Judy Handley | Mar 7, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 137, Year 11: Birthday Dinner with Family
Date: Monday, March 7, 2016
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, High 50, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
This afternoon we drove just a few miles down the road to visit with my nieces Lynn and Candi. Candi keeps her youngest granddaughter, Hailey, on Mondays, so we also got to see little Hailey, her mom Katie, and Candi’s eight year-old granddaughter Grace. When we arrived we got to play with Hailey. Hailey will be one the end of April and she is a feisty little one. So cute! We enjoyed visiting and then Candi served a fantastic dinner. Brad Jr. joined us and we had a lively political conversation during dinner. Dessert was a birthday cake in honor of my 69th, but the cake had only 16 candles. Grace wanted to know hold old I was and I told her to count the candles. She didn’t fall for that! It was a lovely evening. Thank you, Candi!
Otherwise the day was business as usual. Mark worked most of the day on his consulting job. I edited, named, and posted photos and made a very frustrating trip to the closes supermarket. It is in the center of the city and the traffic going to and from was crazy. And the selection at this Market Basket was not great. I’ll have to find a better alternative.
by Judy Handley | Mar 6, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 136, Year 11: Scout Awards Ceremony
Date: Sunday, March 6, 2016
Weather: Partly Sunny, High upper-30’s, Low 20’s F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Before returning to Lowell today, we attended a Scout awards ceremony for Jonah and Sam. Jonah is a first year Tiger Cub and Sam is a Bear Cub. I’m having to relearn how this Scout thing goes. We went through it with Justin, but that was over 30 years ago! We learned to day that next year Jonah will be a Wolf Cub and Sam will be a first year Webelo. I was not quite sure why the awards ceremony is held mid-year, but it is and it is quite a long affair lasting about two and half hours. But long as it was, we enjoyed spending the time with the Heather, Jed, and the boys. When the ceremony was over, we headed back to Heather and Jed’s to finish up the laundry we had brought with us and then we headed north to Lowell.
We really enjoyed our short visit and will return next Saturday and plan to spend four to five days on the Cape. Jed will be out of town for a conference and Heather had two different speaking engagements during his absence and needs some child care assistance. There is nothing I would rather do. Of course, if Mark has to be in Boston for further testing, we’ll figure that out. But right now we don’t know exactly when we will hear from Mass General as to the next steps.
Tonight when we got home we watched the Democratic debate. I must make full disclosure by saying that I am a born and bred Democrat and this primary season, I am most proud to say that. Tonight’s debate stood in such stark contract to the Republican ‘show’ this past week. “Scientists have discovered a powerful new strain of fact-resistant humans who are threatening the ability of Earth to sustain life, a sobering new study reports.” I read this on my daughter-in-law’s Facebook page and when I see what is happening in the Republican primary, I think it must be true! In contrast, on the Democratic side there is Hillary with her fastidious step-by-step plans and Bernie with his truth and compassion. I’m definitely being led by my heart and supporting Bernie at this point. But, in my way of thinking, either Democratic candidate is a far better choice than any Republican candidate at this point in the race. We live in the most interesting of times.
Happy birthday to our good friend, Alan Kanegsberg. Nine years ago on this date we were together in New Zealand celebrating both of our birthdays in Milford Sound on the South Island. Maybe next year we can plan to be in some equally fabulous place to celebrate my 70th and Alan’s 7—th. My, we are so young!
by Judy Handley | Mar 5, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 135, Year 11: Trip to the Cape
Date: Saturday, March 5, 2016
Weather: Partly Cloudy, High in the 30’s, Low in the 20’s F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones in East Falmouth, MA
Today we made a trip to the Cape to attend Bruce and Jane Woodin’s annual Tacky Gift Party. I think the best of the gifts was one that Heather and Jed took. It was a plastic pickle the size of a large Kosher dill that yodels. Yes, a yodeling pickle. Jane ended up with it and she was absolutely delighted. Mark ended up with a fish that sings Christmas carols. The party was great fun with lots of tacky gifts! When it was time for desert, all of a sudden everyone was singing Happy Birthday . . . to me. Heather and Jed provided the cakes and candles, so that was an extra added birthday treat for me.
Earlier in the day I was presented with handmade cards from Jonah and Ollie and after we got home tonight and the kids were in bed, I got birthday presents from Heather and Jed and from Mark. I also got calls and emails from friends and family, so it was a very happy day.
I must mention a very special highlight of the day. We arrived at Heather and Jed’s in the early afternoon. Sam needed to work on a school project and Jonah elected to stay home, so I took Ollie to Peterson Farm to see if the baby lambs have arrived. When we got there we saw the sheep dogs in the large field herding the sheep. This was obviously a training exercise as there were three adults in the field with whistles and it was amazing to watch them direct the dogs, and in turn to watch the dogs direct the sheep. But there were no baby lambs to be seen in that field. So Ollie and I walked back to sheep barn and at first glance we still saw no babies. We walked around the fenced area where there were some other children. When we got to that area, we saw that the other children were watching one baby lamb intently. As we looked closer, it became evident that this little lamb had just been born. The baby was still wet and still had wobbly legs. Ollie was so excited that he was so close to a newborn. Eventually we saw a pair of twin lambs that were all white and fluffy indicating that they had been around for a week or so. But it was the newborn that Ollie was fascinated with. I promised to bring him back to the farm to see if there are more babies when Mark and I return to the Cape next weekend. Ollie suggested that we should take the newborn home with us since it was born on my birthday. I thought it was a great idea, but I was sure that Heather and Jed wouldn’t agree with my assessment. Instead I suggested that we just name the newborn Judy in honor of our joint birth date. But Ollie decided the little lamb’s name was Birthday Lamb. So it is.
by Judy Handley | Mar 4, 2016 | Sailing Logs Year 11 |
Day 134, Year 11: Taking Care of Business
Date: Friday, March 4, 2016
Weather: Overcast with Snow Flurries, High in the 30’s, Low in the 20’s F
Location: At Home in Evergreen Preserve, Lowell, MA
Before I talk about taking care of business, I want to wish my brother-in-law Joe (sister Patsy’s husband) a very happy birthday. Joe is much more a brother than a brother-in-law and on special days like this, I very much miss being close enough to give a hug rather than being far away and having to communicate by phone. We called just as my niece Janet came to pick up her mom and dad and take them out to a Japanese steak house for dinner. Joe, hope you enjoyed your dinner and your special day.
We got up early and started the rush hour trek into Boston. At mid-day it takes us only 45 minutes to get from here to Mass General, but at rush hour you can double that time. But in an hour and half Mark was actually checking-in. By 11 am Mark had the biopsy and we were back in the condo. To get the tissue samples needed, they simply numb the specific area, stick and needle in, and then insert another needle into the first one to get the samples. The tissue samples will be sent to Novartis for the appropriate testing and in a week or two the results should be sent back to Mark’s oncologist. So today’s first order of business was completed before noon.
When we got back to the condo, it was time to deal with the heating issue. We took Jared, the neighbor next door to a local hardware store to buy a thermostat and to another hardware store to return the faulty one he bought yesterday. We came back to the condo and installed the new thermostat. This thermostat worked but it did not turn the heat on. The next step was to vacuum out the fresh air intake. Yesterday Jared thoroughly cleaned it, but when he got into it again today, he found that more dust had been sucked in. The fans were now absolutely clean but still we had no heat. Jared tried a few more things, but it became evident that there was some sort of electrical issue and we needed professional help. He called a heating guy that successfully worked on his system and he promised to come in an hour. And he (Bruce) did. The heating system here is a hot water system and evidently our water was so hot that it was keeping the heat from switching on. That probably means a faulty hot water thermostat, but we will have to wait until tomorrow or Monday to find out as the part had to be ordered. In the meantime, Bruce manually turned off the hot water heater which immediately switched the heat on. Hopefully we’ll have both hot water and heat by Monday.
Tomorrow we head to Cape Cod. We are going to a Tacky Gift Party tomorrow night at Bruce and Jane Woodin’s. This is an annual affair and always a lot of fun. Helaine Kanegsberg donated an item from her basement that I will take and I ordered Trump toilet paper for Mark to take. Regardless of your political leanings, this is definitely a tacky gift!
