2019 Life Logs, Day 47: Saturday My Way
2019 Life Logs, Day 47: Saturday My Way
Date: Saturday, February 16, 2019
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 43, Low 23 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a beautiful, low-key day. The sun was shining, it was warm enough that coats were not necessary, and I had nothing that I had to do other than feed the Goldstone’s guinea pigs. It was a Saturday ‘my way’. Although everyone who knows me would never think a low-key day would be my kind of day, I actually relish those rare days. I normally live a pretty fast-paced life, but days like today give me a chance to focus on the glories of the simple things in life. I got up, did my morning exercises, and communed with the baby fish in my aquarium while feeding them. Then I headed to the gym to ride the stationary bike while listening to music choices chosen by Sam and Jonah. I love listening to their music as it makes me feel closer to them and is reintroducing me to music. I did some food shopping, and then finalized the sale of the dinghy, motor, and trailer that I bought for Heather and Jed in 2017. Since we have never used it, we decided that selling it to someone who will really use it was the right thing to do. And it will still be in the ‘family’ as I sold it to Sam Patterson who sails with Bruce and Jane Wooden. So, by mid-day, I had made a little money and exercised and bought food to keep me healthy. All good things. I spent my afternoon buying seeds and organic potting soil to get my indoor garden started, came home and continued working to get the grow lights installed in the shelves that will be my indoor greenhouse, and then had a nice visit with Karen and Peter Baranowski who dropped by. I went to Heather and Jed’s to feed the guinea pigs and then came home and did some cooking while watching the Grammy Awards. I know. The Grammy’s were on last Sunday, but I recorded the program and watched it tonight. In the late 1980’s, my niece Lynn came to visit and made the pronouncement that I had absolutely no pop culture knowledge. She was right then, and it is still true today. But when she called me last Sunday to tell me the Grammy’s were on, I did at least record the program and then watched tonight to catch up on my pop culture knowledge. I knew the name Alicia Keys, but really didn’t know who she was. Watching her emcee the Grammy’s gave me a chance to get know more about her . . . so talented. And I was blown away by the voice of Brandi Carlile. Thanks to my niece for persisting in the challenge of getting me to expand my pop culture knowledge.
and it always brings great joy to children. But on the other hand, the icy conditions caused by that beautiful blanket of white cause all sorts of problems. Knowing it was coming this afternoon, the Falmouth schools decided to follow the Early Release schedule today to avoid the risk of accidents if they released at the normal time during the snow fall. It was a perfect call as the first snow flake fell just as I was walking with Jonah and Ollie to my car to take them home at 12:40 pm. It didn’t take long for the ground to be covered and by 1:30 there was enough snow to get the boys outside to do some sledding. Of course, sledding somehow turned into a snowball fight and then tears because snowballs ended up being thrown into faces where they are never to be thrown. And then everyone was cold and wet and no longer enamored by the white stuff and they headed next door to play inside. Heather was home sick this afternoon and trying to get some work required reading done, but once the boys were next door, she fell asleep. When Jed got home she was still asleep and I do hope the rest helps her fight off this cold. By the time Jed got home, the snow was turning to icy rain. Jed cleaned the snow off my car and I headed home before the roads got any worse. Once home, I shoveled the front steps, a path to the car, and the entrance to Shirley’s home. I didn’t shovel her whole drive way as it is supposed to warm up overnight and melt the snow. But in case that doesn’t happen, there is enough shoveled to get into and out of the two houses safely.
Then, tonight, I enjoyed a wonderful Skype video call with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, Coco, and Jo’s parents who are taking a break from England’s gray winter skies to enjoy sunny Puerto Rico. I have only met Jo’s parents once, but we keep in touch via email and Skype video calls from time to time when they are visiting Justin and Jo or when Justin and Jo are in England visiting them. I got to see Ziggy’s aquariums, the part of his room that he uses as his inventor’s workshop, and I got see one of his inventions in action. Coco had been playing a game with her Grandma that teaches about flower families and she delighted in reading the various flower families to me. I also enjoyed seeing how they have rearranged rooms. What was the guest room is now Ziggy’s room and workshop. Ziggy and Coco’s bedroom is now the guest room and the playroom is now Coco’s room. So much changes in a year and since I didn’t get to go to Puerto Rico this winter, I hope we can have more of these Skype video calls to help me keep in touch. Otherwise, my day was just more of the same. I spent almost two hours at the gym this morning and spent my afternoon cooking and working on updating computer files. Jed and Jonah stopped by on their way home from Jonah’s guitar lesson and got the cross braces properly installed on the back of my new ‘greenhouse’ shelves. Thank you, Jed! Tomorrow I will get the plant lights installed on those shelves and continue working on computer file updates. So, more of the same, except we are expecting snow instead of sunshine. We haven’t seen much of the white stuff this winter, so we’ll see if it really materializes or manages to elude us once again. Tuesday is my day to pick Jonah and Ollie up after school, so we might be playing in the snow after school.
I purchased on Friday that will turn my living room windows into a greenhouse for growing the seedlings for this summer’s gardens—mine and Heather’s. Just thinking about gardening and summer brought warmth and the bright sunshine coming in the window added to the illusion. The shelves are simple and will hold 16 to 20 seed starting trays, more than we will need. I will add some additional grow lights, but I can’t afford the real deal from Home Depot. I stopped by Job Lot on my way to the gym this morning and found that they have the same LED shop lights I purchased last year. They cost $15 for a 4-foot light, versus $40 for a 2-foot grow light at Home Depot. Much more affordable, and with the sun that comes through the front windows, I think they will do. It is too early to start most things, but for now I am going to experiment with growing trays of arugula, not to transplant, but to cut straight from the growing trays into my salad bowl. I wanted to get this all set up before my knee surgery so that it will be easy to start the seeds when the time comes. I need a little help from Jed to get the cross braces on the shelves. Then I’ll get the lights installed and be ready to grow.
