by Judy Handley | Feb 21, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 52—Taking Care of Business
Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Weather: Overcast and Foggy AGAIN; High 54, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
I persisted and stayed up last night until the last woman skated (and fell) in the short program. If you did the same, then you know that was well after mid-night. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow, but then for some inexplicable reason, I woke up at 4:30 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I kept my eyes shut until the alarm went off at 8 am and have been on the move since. It was a day for taking care of business. First, it was off to Heather’s to feed the guinea pigs. Then it was on to a 10 am appointment with my primary care physician. He insists on twice yearly blood tests to check my cholesterol and glucose numbers. I join the ranks of too many Americans with a slightly elevated glucose level. I also join the ranks of too many Americans who need to watch their cholesterol. My total cholesterol number has been high, yet stable, over 25 years. Thankfully my ratio is excellent, so I don’t have to be on meds. I just have to have twice yearly check-ins with this doctor. The doctor appointment was in Sandwich, about 30 minutes from here, on a road that runs along the north shore of the Cape. I drove that little two-lane road from Sandwich to Hyannis today so I could drive through the salt marsh. It was foggy again today, but a drive through the salt marsh on an overcast, misty winter day was beautiful. I was driving to Hyannis to have my new eye glasses (new the first of January) adjusted. I’ve never had so much trouble with glasses, and in trying to make an adjustment, the woman actually broke off one of the arms. I had to wait to have that replaced and to have the lens attachments tightened. The new glasses are rimless, so the lenses are drilled where they attach to the bridge and held together with little plastic tabs that don’t do the job. I think I chose a frame that is too narrow and the plastic attachments pop out of the drilled holes about once a week. I can get them back together, but I have to carry my old glasses with me all the time in case reassembly is not easy. And then there is the problem that I seem to be allergic to them! They make my eye lids extremely sensitive. So much so, that after wearing them for a little over a week, I have to take them off for a few days to give my eye lids a break. A very nice gentleman came out to talk to me today and suggested I give them another week. If things are not better, then I should return and choose another frame. The current frame has a rubber coating. I’ve always had just medal, so that’s what I’ll get if these need to be replaced. I was going to stop at the AT&T shop to have them deal with a number of issues that have arisen when I switched from my phone to Mark’s phone on Sunday. But I just didn’t have the stamina to deal with another problem. I’ll go there tomorrow. After a late lunch, I did take my bike to the bike shop for an “almost spring” tune-up. I also bought a tire pump and ordered some panniers. Finally, it was home for the evening where I have been watching the Olympics alternately with watching some health-related episodes online. It seems there is always an informative series running and I try to take advantage of them when I can. No matter what the topic of the series, there are certain life style recommendations that are made for all, and one of those is getting quality sleep. So, I am going to bed and skip watching the Gold Medal women’s hockey game between Canada and the US. Hopefully I can watch it On Demand tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Feb 20, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 51—More Helping Out and Catching Up
Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Weather: Overcast and Foggy; High 48, Low 44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
I have been so dedicated to getting up and going to the gym for 9:15 classes, but this morning, I skipped Tai Chi and fixed a nice breakfast before heading to Heather’s. I needed to get there for the morning feeding of the guinea pigs and to then can the apple sauce I made yesterday for Jonah and Ollie (Sam doesn’t eat ‘wet’ fruit) yesterday. I got a bit side-tracked when I decided to take advantage of almost empty veggie drawers in the refrigerator and clean the bottom half of the refrigerator. It’s just what moms do. Then I headed home and started working on the to do list I generated yesterday. I didn’t make a huge amount of progress, but I got started. Then it was time to stop and head to the gym. I continue to watch Olympic ice skating tonight, but somehow it hasn’t captured my interest. But I will persevere.
by Judy Handley | Feb 19, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 50—Helping Out and Catching Up
Date: Monday, February 19, 2018
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Drizzle Forecast for Overnight; High 51, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
When I sent my log last night, I had not yet heard from Windbird. But just after sending the log, I got a Spot report showing that they had arrived in the Domincan Republic. Sam contacted me via Facebook messaging today to check in. They want to get a Sailrite sewing machine to Puerto Rico, so we messaged back and forth about the best way to do that. It now looks like I will be headed to either the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico sometime around mid-March.
After my morning class at the gym, I spent the rest of the day helping out and catching up. The helping out was going to Heather’s to feed the guinea pigs and to wash and dry the sofa cushion covers. Heather had done half of the cushions before leaving for DC but wasn’t going to have time to complete the job. So, I offered to do that for her. I also offered to make apple sauce with the all the over ripe apples, so I did that and will pressure can it tomorrow. I will return to Heather’s after Tai Chi in the morning and complete the jobs. When I got home late this afternoon, I made a To Do List of all the things I need to do here to catch up on this and that. And then there is watching the Olympics. I love the ice skating, but more than the Olympics, the one thing that has captivated by attention and my heart in the past few days are the actions being taken by the high school students in Parkland, Florida, as well as students all over the country. The Parkland students have taken the tragedy that happened in their high school last week to a national movement against gun violence. I am in awe of their resilience, their determination, and their view of a better America. I am behind them all the way and I truly hope you are as well. They are not only the strength of the here and now, they are our future.
by Judy Handley | Feb 18, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 49—Reading, Cooking, Olympics
Date: Sunday, February 18, 2018
Weather: Snow Gone, Back to Sunshine; High 44, Low 29 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
When I went to bed last night after midnight, there was a blanket of white covering everything in sight. But by the time I got up this morning, the sun was shining brightly and there was no snow in sight. Heather and gang made it to DC by 6 pm, so the snow that fell between here and there overnight must not have been an issue. But with them gone, it was a lonely Sunday here. Sunday is soccer day in the winter, but instead of going to watch soccer games this afternoon, I read. I rarely have the time to read during the day, so this was a treat. I also spent time researching new recipes and then spent time in the kitchen cooking. I went out late in the day to go to the grocery store and to go feed Mortimer and Max, Sam and Jonah’s guinea pigs. Then I came home to settle in for a long winter’s night watching Olympic short program ice dancing. Thanks to the timing, I was able to sneak away from 9 to 10 pm to watch Victoria on Masterpiece Theater. But I’m back to the Olympics now and I know it will be well after midnight before the last skaters finish. I love the Olympics but watching requires many late, late nights.
It is going to be a warmer than normal week here. We will not get as warm as Boston, but the temp will be in the upper 40’s everyday for the next seven, sometimes hitting the 50’s. So, I’m hoping to get out on my bike for a few rides this week. I have not gotten a Spot message from Windbird, so I don’t know yet if they made it to the Dominican Republic today. Hopefully their trip hasn’t been too rough.
by Judy Handley | Feb 17, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 48—It’s Snowing
Date: Saturday, February 17, 2018
Weather: Sunny Day, Snow Late Evening; High 37, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
Just as forecasted, the snow here began at 9 pm. But as it snows overnight, the temperature is going to hover at just about 32 degrees F. So, it will be a wet snow and should end by morning. Heather and crew are headed to Washington, DC, tomorrow morning for winter break week with Jed’s mom. Heather has a speaking engagement at the Howard Hughes Research Center at Janelia in Ashburn, Va, just outside DC, on Tuesday. But for the rest of the week, the Goldstones will spend time enjoying Washington’s wonderful museums and spending time with Grammie Marty. Here’s hoping they have a safe trip down and a wonderful time while there.
Ahhh, technical issues. It does appear that my syncing issues with Google were resolved with the higher internet speed I upgraded to earlier in the week. So today I braved the next issue. My phone is a cheapie and has only 8 GB’s of storage space. That is ancient by current standards. So today I took Mark’s phone, which has 32 GB’s, to the AT&T store to transfer data from my phone to his. It was a long, painful experience, and still I had to drive to Heather’s afterwards to get more support, but I am mostly set for now. I was told that I will probably have to buy a new phone at some point in the near future, but I hope I am okay for now.
I have been following Windbird’s progress via Spot reports that they send, and it looks to me like they are about half way to the Dominican Republic. They should arrive there sometime tomorrow, so stay tuned on that one.
by Judy Handley | Feb 16, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 47—It’s Friday
Date: Friday, February 16, 2018
Weather: Foggy, Then Mostly Cloudy
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
It is Friday and I don’t have a lot to report. I spent the day at home, had a great conversation with Ed and Lynne Kirwin, ignored computer and phone issues, and spent my evening at a Newcomers Mix and Mingle event. I was not very good at mingling with lots of people I have never met before, but I had some quality time with good friends Karen and Peter Baranowski. They recently returned from a two-week cruise on a 5-masted sailing ‘ship’ going from island to island from Barbados to the Grenadines, down to Granada, and then back north to Guadeloupe, Nevis, and even Monserrat. Another Newcomer who has moved here from New York City just returned from a sailing trip to Maui. She sails with a club out of NYC and they had a spectacular time. So, lots of conversations centered on sailing experiences. And then when I got home, I got another sailing update. There was a Spot report from Windbird showing that they left the Turks and Caicos today and should be in the Dominican Republic by Sunday. Once they are there, I will contact them to try and more specifically determine when I might be joining them. I ended my evening by tuning into the Men’s Free Skate Olympic competition and enjoyed that. And don’t tell anyone, but it looks like that uploading and downloading from my computer to the ‘cloud’ might actually be completed.
