by Judy Handley | Mar 19, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 78—A Little Work, A Little Play
Date: Monday, March 19, 2018
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; Afternoon Sprinkles; High 82, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Rincon, PR
My day was divided between work and play, with the emphasis on play. Justin stayed home this morning to work on the farm while Jo took Coco to her weekly day of school away from home. Ziggy and I worked on the book he is writing about Finca Maravilla. This is the name Justin and Jo bestowed upon this little farm when they moved here. In Spanish, ‘finca’ means farm and ‘maravilla’ means wonder. When put together, it is a little farm of wonder. And after working on the book, we went out to work on this little farm of wonder, clearing the area that is to become the new bunny petting area. We moved old feed bags, tires, pieces of wood, lots of broken glass, while avoiding two huge poisonous centipedes that seemed to follow us. Jo had the sense to kill the one stalking her, as I should have, but didn’t. We then started digging the trench to bury the rabbit wire at the bottom of the fence. This is keep bunnies from digging out and dogs from digging in. It didn’t take long for me to realize why Justin gave me a pic axe, not a shovel, to dig. The ground here is solid rock. It is a type of rock that can be broken up, but it makes digging most difficult. Now I understand why Jo has to garden on top of the soil in deep beds.
After lunch we headed to town. We all got to see the results of Justin’s late night. His new office space looks great and he is ready for full time work there. After visiting his office, we picked up Coco and headed to Aguadilla. Ziggy, Coco, and I were dropped off at a skate park, adjacent to a play area and the ice skating rink on the Aguadilla waterfront. We played for a couple of hours while Justin and Jo took care of their business. We had planned to go ice skating when Justin and Jo were free, but we found out that the rink is only open in the summer. The kids were bummed, but they adjusted quickly and the fun continued. When we left Aguadilla around 5:15 pm, we headed back to Rincon to have dinner at Cowboys. The kids love it there, but we were once again disappointed. It is currently not open on Mondays and Tuesdays. And once again, the kids adjusted to a change in plans without too much fuss. We had a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant and called it a day.
Tomorrow is my last day here. I leave for the airport tomorrow night just after midnight to catch my 3 am flight to Fort Lauderdale and then on to Boston. I sent a text to Heather this afternoon and she wrote back that another snow storm is expected on Wednesday night to celebrate my arrival. Sure not looking forward to that!
by Judy Handley | Mar 18, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 77—A Little of This and That
Date: Sunday, March 18, 2018
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 82, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Rincon, PR
This day was filled with a little of this and that. The electricity came back on, but still no water which makes life not so easy. After Hurricane Maria, Heather and Jed sent a collapsible rain barrel and that gets filled every time the water is on as a reserve for the animals. That makes life a little easier. But still doing things like washing dishes is much more time intensive than it is with running water. And not getting to take showers after working hard in this hot weather is no fun. But life goes on and all is well. Jo got up early and finished distributing the heavy bags of organic gardening soil we got yesterday at Home Depot to the new gardening beds. So she got her hard work in early. Justin spent part of the morning making a computer desk for his new office and then we all went to town. Ziggy, Coco, and Jo went to the Farmer’s Market on the plaza while Justin and I delivered things to his office. I needed to go there to use the internet to send yesterday’s log, so I did that while we put the desk together. In doing that, he realized he needed more items from Home Depot, so he called Jo and she was fine with hanging out at the plaza with the kids and then going to the 413 Café for lunch while Justin and I made a quick run to Mayaguez to Home Depot. The café was so crowded, making service slower than usual, that Justin and I were back before the food was delivered to the table. We had a nice lunch together, walked to the park so the kids could play for a bit, and then headed home. Jo had some work to do, so I hung out with Ziggy and Coco while Justin went back to continue putting the office together. We played soccer, rode scooters, played badminton, and finished off with a game of Uno ending just in time for dinner. I was hesitant about riding the scooter, but Coco insisted I try and I decided that riding a scooter is easier than playing badminton. Justin came home long enough for dinner and bedtime stories and is now back in town finishing the office project. Because that took more of the day than anticipated, he is going to take off tomorrow morning and work on the rabbit fencing project and tomorrow afternoon we all go to Aguadilla. Justin and Jo have a business appointment and I am going to take Z & C to the beach while they are in their meeting. Then we are going ice skating. Rather, they are going ice skating while I watch. The kids wanted to do something fun while I am here and ice skating is their definition of fun!
by Judy Handley | Mar 17, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 76—Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Date: Saturday, March 17, 2018
Weather: Most Sunny; High 85, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Rincon, PR
The green we focused on today was building new gardens here on the farm. There are always projects to do on a small farm, but six months after Hurricane Maria, there are still so many aftermath projects left to be done. Before Maria, Justin and Jo had didn’t really garden extensively, but since the hurricane, they have been trying to raise most of their greens, tomatoes, and eggplant. So we spent a good deal of the day doing the things necessary to start a few new beds.
The day actually began with Ziggy making breakfast. All my himself, he made pancakes and scrambled eggs while Justin and Jo were doing chores and I was washing dishes. That didn’t last the chores this morning was mucking out the goat pen, so breakfast was a bit delayed. But after a leisurely breakfast, we all spent some time just doing this and that and when it got really hot outside we decided to drive to Mayaguez to go to Home Depot. Justin and Jo had discussed how they would spend the Home Depot gift certificate sent to them from the third and fourth graders at East Falmouth Elementary School and they were anxious to go get the supplies for the projects. We came home with 16 bags of organic gardening soil, a hoe, a pitchfork, solar lights to line the lower driveway, and rabbit fencing to make a secure petting zoo area so the kids who attend Soul Food Friday can get up close and personal with the rabbits and baby goats. And once home, we all got to work making the new garden beds happen. I helped Justin as he used the chainsaw to cut lengths of downed trees that Jo could use to outline her deep beds. He cut, I stacked wood to be burned, and we carried and rolled logs down the hill to the garden. By the time we finished, it was time to get ready for dinner and a second movie night. Because Oma is here and has really wanted to see Moana, that was the choice for tonight. Ziggy bet Justin yesterday that he would not watch Moana for a third time, but he took his bet back today. Coco and I really enjoyed the movie and Ziggy was glued to the screen for the whole time. Afterwards, we watched the Dancing Across the Pacific video that Mark and I made and then danced and read our way to bed.
by Judy Handley | Mar 16, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 75—Soul Food Friday and More
Date: Friday, March 16, 2018
Weather: Most Sunny; High 85, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Rincon, PR
Ziggy had an early morning dentist appointment, so he and Jo headed for Mayaguez about the time I got up. Coco slept in, so Justin and I had a little quiet time together. He had some of his dad’s ashes that we were planning to get to Vieques at some point to scatter in the water there, but recently when Jo’s dog Lulu died, they buried her and put a section of a very large fallen tree over the grave and scattered Granddad’s ashes there. It is a quiet, meditative place and it is nice to know that part of Mark is here to enjoy the serenity. Coco was still asleep when Justin left for work, so I did a little kitchen clean-up in preparation for Soul Food Friday. This begins at 12:30 every Friday when other home-schooled kids show up for an afternoon of experiences and socialization. Today’s activity was dyeing clothing and pieces of cloth with a homemade dye made from avocado seeds. I was anticipating a green color, but it is pink. While waiting for Jo and Ziggy to return, when Coco got up we read, played card games, worked math puzzles, and practiced handwriting. I didn’t look at the clock, but thought it was nearing the time for Soul Food Friday to begin. About that time, Justin came home with the news that Ziggy had to have a tooth extracted and that he was going to get things ready for the afternoon. He put Coco and I to work cleaning up the living room and getting the dining room table ready while he fried arepas (corn cakes) for the kids to eat. Then we realized the water was off again, so Justin drove to the spring to get enough water for the afternoon while I got the experience of frying the arepas. The first kids arrived with Jo and Ziggy. I met the first arrivals and then I left with Justin as I needed to take a big load of clothes to the laundromat and do shopping for dinner and the weekend. Just doing those two things took 5 hours because I had to drive to stores in far reaching directions in order to get what we needed. It is just like living on the Cape. I can get most things at the local grocery stores, but sometimes I have to drive to either Whole Foods or Hyannis to get special things. I picked Justin up at 5:30 and we picked up a movie for Friday movie night. It was James and the Giant Peach which we enjoyed while eating gluten-free pizza. Tomorrow is going to be a work day on the farm with a trip to Home Depot to pick up some needed tools and garden soil. We are all looking forward to a day at home, minus the Mayaguez trip, and working together to increase garden space.
by Judy Handley | Mar 15, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 74—Gilligan’s Island
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018
Weather: Most Sunny; High 90, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Rincon, PR
Today we traveled for about two hours to meet up with Sam and Dawn on Windbird anchored between the town of Guanica and Gilligan’s Island on the south coast. On the way there, we drove through the city of Mayaguez and a few smaller towns. Then, suddenly, we were out in the countryside with mountains in view. It was green and beautiful and Ziggy said it reminded him of West Virginia. I had to agree and I was so happy that he has had the opportunity to experience the hill country of West Virginia and made that comparison. I’ll get back to our fun time on Gilligan’s Island, but first I’ll go through the morning activities leading up to that.
Jo left early to drive to Aguada to get routine mammogram results that she was going to deliver to her doctor in Mayaguez. They don’t send results to your doctor here. They make you pick up the results and pay for another appointment with the doctor to hand them to him. While she was gone, Justin continued working on the pool. Because there has been no running water and the pool level is down, he hasn’t been able to run the pump and lots of algae has grown. But this morning both electricity and water were on, so he filled the pool, cleaned out the leaves, and got things ready to run the pool pump all day while we were going to be gone. This is an above ground pool that someone gave them that now serves multiple purposes around here. It came to the property just a short time before Hurricane Maria and had proven to be a key to happy survival. After the storm when there was no running water, the pool water reserve was used to flush toilets and wash dishes. And it is still used for that as the water comes and goes constantly. It also serves as a way to cool off when there is no electricity for fans and no water for taking showers. And the fact that it didn’t blow away during the hurricane makes it a survivor, so keeping it clean is important to everyone here. Once Jo returned, we headed to Mayaguez to deliver her mammogram results. She was supposed to stay for an appointment, but since the results were normal, she decided to just leave the results. While she went to the doctor’s office, Justin, Coco, Ziggy, and I walked to a coffee shop to get drinks for everyone. When we met back up with Jo we learned that the receptionist would not take the results, so Jo is going to have to make another appointment. We made another stop to look for office furniture for Justin’s new office, and then we were off to Gilligan’s Island for the rest of the afternoon.
We arrived at the Copamarina Hotel at 2 pm. This is where Sam had arranged to pick us up. He was there and after a short Coco meltdown about getting in the dinghy, we were off. It was actually very funny. She first refused to walk down the dock to the dinghy, but finally she arrived at the dinghy announcing that she and Jo were going to walk around to a waterfront restaurant where there is a ferry you can take out to the island. And at the same time that she was saying this, she was hopping into the dinghy. It is all about being five. There is absolutely no logic, but things work out. We waved at Dawn on Windbird as we went passed and told her Sam would be back for her. He delivered us to the dock at Gilligan’s Island and then went back for Dawn and Piper. We snorkeled in the mangroves along the shore where there was not much to see. But just being in the water was fantastic. When we had exhausted snorkeling possibilities in that location, we walked across the tiny island to the ‘river’ that runs between Gilligan’s and the next little island. The wind was blowing and the water felt cold to Jo, so she stayed behind while the rest of us fought the strong current to snorkel the length of the ‘river’ to the ocean on the other end. Dawn did this while helping Piper Dog along and for the hardest bits, Justin did it with Ziggy and Coco on his back. There were a couple of times when I didn’t think I would make it, but I persisted. At least there were mangrove roots to hold on to in order to get a rest from the fighting the current. The fast ride back with the swiftly moving current was the reward. It was so much fun that when we got back, Justin asked me to hang out with Ziggy and Coco while he went to convince Jo to walk to the ocean side of the island and then float back with him in the current. Eventually we all reunited, took time to climb trees and jump into the water, and then we were back to the dock. The kids wanted to visit Windbird one last time, so we made a quick stop. We convinced Sam and Dawn to go to shore to have dinner with us, so we then headed for the little outdoor restaurant that the Gilligan’s Island ferry calls home. It was a simple dinner costing $5 each, but that was the perfect topping to a beautiful afternoon on the water. On the dinghy ride back to the fancy hotel, Sam let Ziggy drive the dinghy. We did a few exciting circles while Ziggy figured out how to drive a dinghy and finally reached the dock at the hotel with Sam giving Ziggy a little help. I think Ziggy really enjoyed that adventure.
We made a couple of stops on the way home. We went to Toys‘r Us with the goal of getting Ziggy a soccer ball, but we ended up getting that for Ziggy and a new stuffed bunny with floppy ears for Coco which she immediately named Fifi. Next, we stopped at Office Depot to check out more office furniture for Justin’s new office. After looking at what is available, he’ll make his decision and the go back to get the things he wants.
It was a glorious day. Thank you again, Dawn and Sam. It is so magical to still be able to sail on Windbird and bring the family along for day adventures. It was late when we got home, but the kids still had story time. One of my favorite things here is going to sleep with the gentle sound of the coqui, the tiny frog endemic to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. They are named for the sound they make (co-key) with the emphasis on the ‘key’. It is so pleasant. What is not so pleasant is the very early morning call of the rooster, like 5 am. I wake to the sound of the rooster, much, much too early, but I just put a pillow over my head and try to sleep on. So goes life on the farm.
by Judy Handley | Mar 14, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 73–Touring Finca Maravilla with Z&C
Date: Wednesday, March 15, 2018
Weather: Most Sunny; High 89, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in Rincon, PR
When Sam and Dawn were here, Ziggy and Coco walked us around the property. But Ziggy wanted to do a more in-depth tour and today was the day. We decided to turn it into a home school book writing experience. My job was to take the photographs that Ziggy directed and then when we finished the tour his job was to write about the photographs. We started that process, but we took 81 photographs and Ziggy after an hour or so of writing, Ziggy decided that was enough for today. We will have to continue over the weekend as tomorrow we go down south to meet Windbird. I got a SPOT report from Windbird this afternoon showing that they made it to Gilligan’s Island today. We will drive to the small town of Guanica and Sam will pick us up in the dinghy. Gilligan’s’ Island is part of the Guanica Biosphere Reserve and it is the perfect place to go snorkeling and swimming. Jo has a morning appointment in Mayaguez, so we will all drive to Mayaguez and when she is finished, we will head to Guanica. And on Friday morning before kids come for Soul Food Friday, we will continue working on our book project.
Jo and Coco went into town this morning to get the mail and they brought home a surprise. The third and fourth graders at Jonah and Ollie’s elementary school took up a collection for Jonah’s cousins, Ziggy and Coco, after Hurricane Maria. The Home Depot and Amazon gift certificates arrived today with the sweetest card (designed by Jonah) with signatures from all the students. There are still so many projects to be done and their contribution was much appreciated. Then we got another surprise. Just before I left for town this afternoon, the water came on. Ziggy immediately started filling the water buckets for the animals, but unfortunately it didn’t stay on long enough to get the pool filled. We use the pool water for flushing the toilets and washing the dishes, so the water level is slowly going down. This after was a school afternoon for Z & C and students were arriving here for lesson with Jo, so I headed to the café in town that has free internet to book a flight home and catch up on correspondence. Unfortunately, by the time I got to town, the electricity was out and the café was closed. About that time, Justin called to say the electricity was out at his office, so he was heading to a nearly bakery that also free internet. So I spent the afternoon there. My AT&T phone signal is just gone today, so I called Heather on Skype to see how she is doing. Other than a tall jack pine in the backyard that seems to be leaning further towards the back neighbor’s property than it was before the storm and the fact that Sam went sledding today and went right into a pond head first, all is well there. Let’s just hope that tree doesn’t fall and Sam doesn’t sled into any more ponds! My next door neighbor checked in with me today to let me know that other than no electricity, no internet, and no running water, things are fine at my apartment. Good time to be away. But back to things here, the electricity is back on tonight and the water came back an hour or so ago. The running water is much harder to do without than the electricity in my opinion, so I hope it is back on for good.
