by Judy Handley | Jun 12, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 163: Stoney Beach and Goldpebbles Rock
Date: Friday, June 12, 2020
Weather: Rainy, Foggy Morning, Beautiful Afternoon, High 72, Low 57 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
This morning was a little rainy and totally overcast and foggy. But the weather forecast for the afternoon was for sunshine. At exactly 1 pm, the transformation happened. So, I got ready to head to the Goldstones to see if I could convince the boys to go to the beach with me this afternoon. At first there was not a lot of excitement, but eventually all three boys decided that if we could go to Stoney Beach in Woods Hole, they were in. So off we went. We had a back up plan as Stoney is a small beach with a small parking lot. But it was not full and we were able to find a space well away from others. Longtime friends from one family from the Goldstones’ new neighborhood were there, but at first the Goldpebbles decided to stay away.
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As the afternoon wore on, however, the boys from the two families ended up playing together. And then another friend of Ollie’s arrived and Davey was added to the group. All of these families are good friends and are all taking super precautions in their lives to avoid the coronavirus, but somehow it just seemed okay to the let the boys play together at the beach. Then things got even more complicated as the boys met new friends out on the jetty as they were trying to catch crabs. There were two boys that live in one of the homes on the beach each summer. I watched as everyone tried very hard to keep a good six feet apart, but playing on the jetty made that a little difficult. So, they all headed out to play in the water. The boys love the little beach in Woods Hole, but as the summer progresses we might have to limit our visits there as more and more people head to the beach. For now, however, we will enjoy it. Today was the first beach day that Jonah has worn a full wet suit as it just arrived yesterday. The water really is still very chilly and the wet suit made all the difference in the world for Jonah. He is often freezing as there is not ounce of fat on his body and he is ready to leave the beach after a short time. But this afternoon, there were no complaints. He was warm the whole time. Ollie’s wet suit still hasn’t arrived, but he didn’t complain. At the end of the day, however, I could see he was really chilled. I sent him to the car to warm up while Sam and Jonah got all of the beach things together. Hopefully, Ollie’s wet suit will arrive early next week.
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All three boys really enjoyed their afternoon. At the end of the day, Jonah and Sam wanted me to get a photo of them in their wet suits and Jonah asked me to post it on Facebook with #surferdudes. They look so grown up.
Things went a little down hill from there. And it was all my fault. I stayed at the beach too long with the boys, so it time for dinner when got home. Heather and Jed had invited me over for artichokes for dinner, but I hated to leave Shadow alone for so many hours, so I dropped the boys off and headed home to get the puppy. By the time I got back, it was almost 7 pm and we were supposed to join my family on a Zoom call to discuss a possible family vacation trip to Great Britain next summer. I had already decided that I will probably not be joining this family vacation as I am just not sure the coronavirus will be under control by then. But I still wanted to join the call to see everyone. We set things up so we could eat and talk. That worked, but Shadow was just not cooperating. I suppose he just needed attention after being left alone all afternoon, but I could not stop him from jumping up on everyone. A jumping puppy, while trying get connected to family on a call with some technical issues, and eating dinner at the same time, got a little tense. If I had left the beach an hour earlier, much of this could have been avoided. Lesson learned, but because the Goldpebbles and I all love the beach so much, I know we will continue to have trouble tearing ourselves away. I just have to do a better job of planning.
After dinner, the boys headed down to the basement to practice for an open mike music event tomorrow. Evidently late morning they had done the same thing while Heather was upstairs on a Zoom staff meeting. She kept her mike muted except when she had to talk, but everyone on the call eventually heard the Goldpebbles playing Ironman. No one said anything, but staff members were texting her with messages about the awesome background music. Tonight, the Goldpebbles were practicing a different song in preparation for tomorrow’s open mike time and I was really amazed at how good they sounded.
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I have heard Sam playing drums and know that he is good, but I haven’t heard Jonah play the bass all that much. Tonight, the duo sounded fantastic and Ollie was serving as their manager and tech support. It was a delight to watch and to hear. The Goldpebbles rock.
by Judy Handley | Jun 11, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 162: Newcomer Showcase
Date: Thursday, June 11, 2020
Weather: Mostly Overcast and Windy; High 75, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today ended up to be a bit of dreary one and the weather seemed to dampen my energy level. I worked on extending the drip irrigation system in my raised beds, I had a short visit with friend Midge Frieswyk when she dropped by to return a book, and I prepared for my contribution to tonight’s Newcomer Showcase on Zoom. And that was it.
The Newcomer Showcase was put together by the leadership team as an attempt to get Newcomers together on Zoom to celebrate some of the talent of various members. There was an impressive array of musicians, artists, photographers, and writers. I was asked to read the first chapter of the book I am writing about The Voyage of Windbird. The chapter is titled, “There He Was.” It tells the story of the day that I met Mark, a man of many dreams that we followed together. The chapter ends with this. “Evening turned into the middle of the night with us still sitting outside on that stone wall talking and falling in love. Then he started talking about the things he had always dreamed of doing . . . building a cabin in the woods and sailing around the world. Whoa. I didn’t even like camping, much less living in a cabin in the woods, and I certainly didn’t want to sail around the world. But decades later, after 31 years of marriage where together we built homes, built our careers, and built our family, he convinced me to do just that.”
by Judy Handley | Jun 10, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 161: MRI Report
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 73, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Plans for today changed. I thought I was going to be taking the Goldpebbles to the beach or have them here for a kayaking this afternoon, but there was a march in Woods Hole of scientists and researchers in support of racial equality in the early afternoon, so the Goldstones headed there. As I was deciding what to do with my afternoon, the problem was solved for me by my primary care physician. One of his nurses called and asked if I could get on a Zoom call with him to discuss my MRI results. She went over the results with me and I was shocked that a report had been written and sent so quickly. The report verified exactly what my chiropractor has been telling me. I have severe stenosis in the lower lumbar region which I already knew, but I also have two bulging discs. One of them has a central extrusion. I don’t know exactly what that means but will soon find out. As I talked to Dr. Ahmed on Zoom, he got on the phone to a neurosurgeon that promised to review my MRI report within the hour. Dr. Ahmed said he would get back to me before the end of the afternoon with the next steps. I was literally shocked at the speed at which all of this happened. But I really have a lot of confidence in Dr. Ahmed. He is the doctor that met with Mark and I for the first time a month before Mark’s death. After examining Mark, he came in to talk to me and said what no doctor to that point had said. He even said at the time, “I know that Mark’s oncologist has probably not addressed this issue with you, but your husband has a very short time to live and you need to get ready for that.” I was jolted, but his actions that day made the last month of Mark’s life so much easier. He immediately ordered home nursing, had me sign all the forms needed to get Hospice involved when the time came, and much more. The point being, Dr. Ahmed is a man of action and I really appreciate that. He did call me back later this afternoon and said that the neurosurgeon had read my MRI report and wanted me take another round of Prednisone to calm down the inflammation. That doctor will meet with me via Zoom on Monday and discuss next steps. In the meantime, Dr. Ahmed said to stop the physical therapy but to continue to see my chiropractor that had insisted that I ask for the MRI to confirm his diagnosis. I feel very lucky to have such a good medical team. I will also contact the Spine Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital where I had my upper spine issues diagnosed in 2014. At that time a young neurosurgeon there told me to keep seeing my chiropractor (the same one I have now) and to not come back until I can’t walk. Dr. Ahmed thinks I should get a second opinion from him if that is possible at this time. Basically, all of this took most of my afternoon, but I did head to the Goldstones around 3:30 pm to go do a little gardening. I solicited help from Sam and Jonah while Ollie had his Wednesday violin lesson. After his lesson, Ollie helped me finish the planting job. The boys have two more weeks of “school”, but I think we are going to start our summer plan next week. It sounds like this summer Camp Oma will be an afternoon affair, with the boys staying at home in the morning to slowly get their day started and to read and relax before an afternoon of activity. It is going to be a different summer, for sure, but I think the current plan sounds like one that will work.
by Judy Handley | Jun 9, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 160: PT and MRI
Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 74, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was all about my back issue. I had a Zoom PT session this morning. The therapist just can’t figure out what is going on. And things seem to be getting worse, not better, every time we try something new. So, he is having me do nothing other than stretching exercises until this Friday when I meet with him in person for the first time. I spent my afternoon driving to Hyannis for an MRI of my lower back. My physician should have the results in 2-3 business days. It would be great if I could get a copy of the report before the PT in-person session on Friday, but I doubt that will happen. Depending on the results, whenever I get them, I think the next step will be to get an appointment with a specialist who can help me better understand the results of the MRI. Another inch-by-inch situation.
I checked in with my book group on Zoom right after my PT appointment. Today’s discussion was on a book that I did not read, “The Gentleman from Moscow.” I will read it at some point, but right now I am dividing my time between reading the Harry Potter series and keeping current on the coronavirus pandemic and reading things related to the current protests. I’ll end this blog post with another quote from Ta’Nehisi Coates’ book, “Between the World and Me” (2015). Food for thought. “The problem with the police is not that they are fascist pigs but that our country is ruled by majoritarian pigs.”
by Judy Handley | Jun 8, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 159: Switching Gears Mid-Day
Date: Monday, June 8, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy; High 75, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The really good news of the day is that Ollie’s fever broke during the night and he is back to feeling fine. We have various ideas of what caused the fever, but no one thinks it was coronavirus related. I started my day thinking I would not be seeing the Goldstones as a safety measure because of Ollie’s fever, but I ended my day taking Sam, Jonah, and Ollie to beach. I had just finished watching a New York Times Living Well webinar on Lowering Coronavirus Risk with Professor Erin Bromage when Jed called to explore the possibilities. Together we decided that keeping the boys active and in outdoor activities is the best for all of us. So, I volunteered to take all three to the beach this afternoon and Jed agreed.
Jed delivered the boys here and then he left as he had to make a trip into Woods Hole to check on things at work. It was a beautiful afternoon with lots of sunshine, but it was windy at the beach which made it feel cooler that we expected. I was glad I had on a long sleeve beach shirt. Sam is the only one who got into the water today as he had his wet suit on. Jonah spent most of his time finding ways to hide under towels to stay out of the wind. And Ollie played on the edge of the water, just not jumping in. Just as we were getting in the car to go home, I got a call from Heather saying she was on her way to pick Jed up. He rode his bicycle into Woods Hole and had a bike accident on his way home. She didn’t know the details at that point, but said that he had called and said something about a flat tire and a wipe out, but that he sounded okay. By the time I got the boys home, Heather was pulling in with Jed. He had fallen off the bike when the tire blew and skidded on the pavement. Thankfully, nothing broken, but some areas of pavement ‘burn’. Ouch.
Now back to the webinar with Erin Bromage. He is the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Associate Professor of Biology whose blog discussing how to lower your risk of getting the coronavirus went viral a couple of weeks ago. His appeal is the down-to-earth way he takes the current data and translates it into practical ways of protecting yourself and your family. I took some notes today and will share them with you here. He had nothing to say that I really had not already heard, but it is the way he puts it all together that is so valuable.
1. His number one recommendation is for everyone to keep track of the number of positive test results being reported by your state. If it is between 2 and 5 per cent, then your state is probably doing well. Under 2 per cent is ideal. His advice is to simply Google your state and Covid-19 to get the results for your state. The lower the percentage, the less community transmission. And that is a good thing.
2. For parents, he recommends making a pact with neighborhood parents. You need to know what each family is doing in terms of safety. Then pick a group that you feel safe with and let your children play together outside—never inside someone else’s home. Once you pick a group, stick with it and don’t mix your circles of friends.
3. Bromage feels that most park environments are fairly safe as along as you maintain that six-foot spacing and have hand sanitizer with you. When at the beach, he doesn’t think you need to worry about which way the wind is blowing as it switches too quickly. Just pick a space separate from others and stay within your space.
4. For hair cuts, he recommends finding someone who will do your whole family at once. Skip getting your hair washed or any other thing done that is not absolutely essential right now. Just go get your hair cut, no waiting in waiting rooms, and make sure only every other chair in the salon is in use.
5. Bromage is really hopeful that we are going to be able to get kids back in schools, but it is going to take a huge amount of planning. He is suggesting a pod approach of 15 to 20 students and no mixing of pods for any reason. But he admits that no matter what is done, there will be transmission. Parents just have to ask what level of risk they are willing to take.
6. On public transportation. People are walking and using their own cars, but they are not yet convinced that public transportation is safe. If you do need to take public transportation, invest in a high quality mask as those become available. Be aware of the surfaces you touch. Carry alcohol rub and use it immediately after exiting. Use an N95 mask in high risk areas and treat it as contaminated. Wear it, then store it in a closed plastic box you carry with you. When you get home, open it up to air out. Using this protocol, he thinks you can use same mask over and over without risk. He mentioned that everyone on airlines must wear a mask, but airlines are not enforcing this. If everyone is not wearing a mask, it puts everyone at risk.
7. On bathrooms—vacuum flush toilets on airlines are the safest, porta potties are okay as long you use hand sanitizer when you exit, but indoor flush toilets are the most risky because they aerosolize. Just remember that the virus hangs in the air for about eight minutes.
8. If you do find yourself in a high risk situation, like being part of a protest, just make sure you self-isolate for ten days afterwards. And get tested if that is possible.
9. Final recommendations—manage your interactions. Constantly be aware of SPACE and the LENGTH OF TIME of encounters. Keep it short. WEAR MASKS. And never gather with TOO MANY PEOPLE. The way you manage your space is up to you and doing it responsibly is the most important thing you can do.
10. Bromage ended by saying that he is optimistic about the level of cooperation between scientists and that he really believes most people are trying to do the right thing.
This New York Times webinar is called Live Well and is aired every Monday at 1 pm EDT. It is hosted by Tara Parker-Pope. To register for future webinars, go to https://timesevents.nytimes.com/
by Judy Handley | Jun 7, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 158: Still Inching Along
Date: Sunday, June 7, 2020
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 66, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a low-key day here, just inching along . . . breakfast outside while playing ball with Shadow, a trip to buy some plants for Heather and Jed’s front yard, a refrigerator clean-out, lunch, and a Skype call with Justin and family. Then I started digging the holes to plant more tomatoes in my new tomato patch. I took a break and delivered the Black-eyed Susans, Lupin, and Echinacea to Heather and Jed’s. We are taking precautions to protect me until we know what is causing Ollie’s fever. Heather and I both wore masks and kept a good physical distance. Ollie came out to say hello but he sat on the front door step. His fever is no better, but it is no worse. He is not eating much, but he says that other than an unsettled tummy, he feels okay—just no energy. Once the plants were delivered, I returned home and finished planting today’s tomatoes. I spent my evening watching a couple of episodes of Grantchester. This is a Masterpiece Theater production that will begin airing their fifth season in a couple of weeks. I had never heard of Grantchester, but when I learned that Season 5 would begin in June, I decided to go back and watch the first four seasons to be ready for Season 5. I am only in Season 2, so I have to binge watch in the next two weeks.
Things are going along okay in Puerto Rico and it as great to get an update from Justin and to talk to Jo, Ziggy, and Coco on Skype.
Gardening is going well and it was great to see how their horse Hopi’s baby, Barnaby, has grown. Justin says the beaches are still closed for general hanging out. You can go to the beach to exercise or walk with your family, but no sitting down and visiting. They are a bit nervous about the prediction that this is going to be a very active hurricane season, but otherwise they are doing what the rest of us are doing which is to find creative ways to survive this pandemic and its economic impact. While writing this, I am watching a special on the coronavirus around the world. I find it fascinating to see how different countries have dealt with this. Different countries came up with different plans, but once a country settled on a plan, everyone went all in to make it work. It is depressing to see how the people of this country have dealt with the virus. It has become a political issue and it is like we are not all fighting the same disease. No one has ever said, “Divided we stand.” But divided we are on everything right now and we are without national leadership. Very scary times.
