by Judy Handley | Aug 24, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 236: Just a Fun Summer Day
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 84, Low Temp 69 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
As I have all summer, I let Sam, Jonah, and Ollie basically set our agenda each day for Camp Oma. I offer ideas, as do they, and then they decide what we will do on any given day. Their goal for the summer was to have mornings at home to read, relax, and play and then spend afternoons doing low-key summer activities. Their plan for today was to go to the Sandwich Glass Museum or go play mini-golf. We ended up doing neither. Sam made last minute plans with a friend to go downtown for lunch after his morning soccer practice and when I picked him up he expressed interest in going to the Glass Museum on a day when he could go. I let Jonah and Ollie make the decision and they definitely wanted to wait and go with Sam on another afternoon. Then they decided that rather than go play mini-golf, they would like to play at home, go to Trotting Park to practice soccer kicks, and I added to that the suggestion that we go to Highfield Hall to have a picnic lunch and play in the stick house built by artisans last summer. We went with this revised plan.
Our picnic lunch at Highfield was at the base of a huge old American Beech tree (Fagus grandifolia) planted by the Beebee family when they lived on the property in the late 1800’s. We then moved to the front lawn of the mansion and had dessert sitting on a stone bench in the shade with the stick house as our view. Just looking at it invites you to want to play hide and seek in its twists and turns, so we did. Since we were there, I asked the boys if they would like to go inside the mansion to see the current art exhibits focused on the sea. One is named SeaChange and is “a call to action that explores the interconnectedness of all living things: our responsibilities toward our environment, our efforts to recognize the fragility of our Earth, and the need to restore balance to preserve it.” The second exhibit was Turn the Tide which “explores the dual threats of climate change and ocean acidification.” Ollie and Jonah both seemed to enjoy the exhibit, but the thing that impressed them both the most was a visit to the men’s room at the end of our visit. They went in and came right back out with Jonah almost screaming, “Oma, you have to come in here and see this.” There was no one else in the bathroom, so I looked in. It is a jaw-dropping beautiful bathroom with tiled floors and walls that made it look like an art exhibit. Next time I am at Highfield, I will have to find the women’s room and check it out.
We went home to pick up Sam and go to the Crooked Coast store. Crooked Coast is a local music group that has a small shop that sells their paraphernalia. We have tried to catch them open all summer, but once again we were unsuccessful. So, we headed to soccer field for the boys to practice kicking goals with the new soccer balls they bought yesterday. We then had to head home for the Goldpebbles to get showered and dressed for an evening of outside fun for the families of Woodwell Climate Change Research Center on their campus. And I had to rush home to pick up Shadow and go to a 5:30 pm dog training class. It was a day filled with summer fun.
by Judy Handley | Aug 23, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 235: Shopping Spree with the Goldpebbles
Date: Monday, August 23, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Rain Late; High Temp 82, Low Temp 71 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
You know your grandsons are growing up when I am the one that wanted to go to the beach to play and they are the ones that ones that wanted to go shopping for clothes. And they knew exactly what they wanted. Ollie wanted Columbia shorts and shirts. Sam wanted Nike shorts, t-shirts, and soccer cleats. And Jonah wanted Nike or Adidas soccer cleats. He has enough hand-me-downs from Sam that he doesn’t have to worry about buying school clothes this year. The Wrentham Outlet sounded like the one place that might have all of these things, so off we went with masks and Heather’s credit card in hand. I became the mode of transportation instead of the adult forcing kids to go look for back-to-school clothes. When did this change come about?
I think I can speak for the boys in saying that we had a good time. Since Sam has a phone, we could split up and stay in contact via text. We decided on a place to meet if our phones failed (the Lindt Chocolate store—yum!!), walked past it to get our bearings and then on to the Nike outlet. On the way there was a great children’s climbing playground. It was too crowded for the boys to try out, but they thought it was a great idea to have a play area in the middle of an outlet mall. When we got to Nike, there was a long line to enter, so Sam and Jonah waited in line while Ollie and I walked to the Columbia outlet. He wanted shorts, but the closest we could find were long pants that zip off above the knee to make shorts. He decided that was a good deal as he could wear the shorts when it is hot and add the zip-ons when the weather gets colder. Then he saw the type of Columbia shirts granddad always wore. He loved the colors, one bright blue shirt and one bright green one. The shirts are long-sleeved, but you can roll up the sleeves, so he bought one of each. Not cheap, but he was so pleased with his choices. When we were walking back to the Nike store, I got a text from Sam saying that he and Jonah found nothing at Nike and were now in the Burton store. Their thinking was that if you can’t find school clothes and soccer cleats, you might as well get ready for snowboarding this winter and Burton is the place to do that. Sam found a wild pair of snowboarding pants and some t-shirts that he just had to have. Then it was on to Adidas. Sam and Jonah tried on pair after pair of soccer cleats, but in every case, the ones they really liked were not available in their size. Jonah found the cleats of his dreams, but they were a half size too long. They were $250 cleats on sale for 50 percent off because they were last pair of that style. He was disappointed but took it in stride and we decided to give up outlet shopping for the day. We made one last necessary stop at the Lindt Chocolate store to buy a sampling of truffles to eat while we traveled on to the next exit on the way home to a store called We Got Soccer. Jed had suggested we look there for cleats and Sam was successful. He found a pair of Nikes that he loved. So did Jonah, but Jonah’s weren’t on sale and were insanely expensive. He made the decision to try to find them cheaper online and bought a soccer ball instead. Sam and Ollie also decided to buy soccer balls and I drove home with three happy boys. And I have to say, it was more fun than I have ever had shopping.
by Judy Handley | Aug 22, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 234: Henri Goes Easy on the Cape
Date: Sunday, August 22, 2021
Weather: Overcast, Windy, Rainy; High Temp 77, Low Temp 73 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Henri went from tropical storm to hurricane, back to tropical storm and now a tropical depression in twenty-four hours. And although downgraded, Henri is certainly still with us. Lucky for Cape Cod, Henri went easy on us. We have had a windy day, but certainly not as windy as we have gotten with a nor’easter. We got some rain early and then lots of mist for the rest of the day, but not enough to cause any serious issues. There are thousands of people in New England without power, some of them in Massachusetts, but as of yet, just not as many as expected. We have to remember, however, that Henri is not finished with us. It is moving very slowly, still to the west and is expected to turn back to the east tomorrow. In the meantime, the storm is wrecking havoc in New York and New Jersey with so much rain that they are having flash floods.
Like most people, I stayed home all day. As I walked Shadow through the neighborhood, it felt like a ghost town. Not one car passed by us, and I saw no one outside. Just me and my Shadow. Other than walking with Shadow and playing ball with him, I spent the entire day in the kitchen. With tomatoes I picked in my garden, I made a batch of marinara sauce to can and I made tomato pesto that I will freeze. I also made a wild rice and mushroom casserole. Heather and I share my canner and it is at her house right now. I’ll get it when I go get the boys at noon tomorrow. Sam has high school soccer practice all morning every weekday until school starts, so he will probably just stay home and rest up most afternoons. But Ollie, Jonah, and I will spend the afternoons of the next two weeks enjoying the last days of summer.
by Judy Handley | Aug 21, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 233: Still on Hurricane Watch
Date: Saturday, August 21, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High Temp 84, Low Temp 73 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
All of the Northeast is watching the progress of Hurricane Henri. Last night it was still a tropical storm but is now a Category One hurricane with 75 mile per hour winds and it’s effects are already being felt in coastal New Jersey and New York. Tonight’s Central Park “We Love New York” comeback (from Covid) concert had to stopped halfway through due to lightening and the seas are churning out on the tip of Long Island. It was a beautiful day and evening here, but that will change overnight. It does look like Henri has decided not to make landfall on Cape Cod, but the tidal surge could be significant. Parts of Massachusetts are bracing for flooding and who knows what will happen with the power grid once trees start falling. Henri has forced me to evaluate my level of storm preparedness and I don’t measure up. I don’t even have a working headlamp in case of a power outage and the two flashlights I have are not good ones. I’ll be fine this time, but I will be making an effort to update my power outage arsenal. I have a Honda generator that I could use to run my refrigerator, but it hasn’t been started since 2016. It is going to the shop for a ‘check-up’ as soon as we can be out and about safely. I’m going to stop writing and head to bed early so I can get up early to watch the weather in the morning.
by Judy Handley | Aug 20, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 232: Tropical Storm Henri
Date: Friday, August 20, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 80, Low Temp 70 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Much of today was spent checking on the progress and direction of tropical storm Henri and preparing for it. Is it going to make landfall as a hurricane? What category? What is the most likely landfall, New York City, Long Island, Cape Cod or somewhere in between? Are high winds going to be the biggest problem or storm surge and flooding afterwards? No one knows the answers yet, but tonight it is looking more and more like the direct hit will be in New York and not here on the Cape. As it follows the Gulf Stream northward tomorrow, we will get a better idea of exactly what it will do. Earlier today, it looked like a Cape Cod landfall. Tonight not so much. But whatever it does, we still have to deal with storm surge and flooding, possible power outages, and on and on. So, the preparation here continues. I made a lot of progress today, but I still have to dot the i’s and cross the t’s tomorrow morning. In talking to Heather tonight, I realized that I have totally forgotten to fill containers with water. That I will do first thing in the morning.
Otherwise, it was a quiet day here until tonight when I managed to talk the evening away on the phone! The first call was with my friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand. A few days ago, one case of the Delta variant was discovered and immediately there was a temporary, but mandatory quarantine. I wish we could move that fast in this country. Hopefully the quarantine measure there will stop the spread of the variant and things will get back to normal. I think normal is a word that in this country we might not ever be able to use again. Not much here seems normal these days.
by Judy Handley | Aug 19, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 231: Lunch at the Falmouth Senior Center
Date: Thursday, August 19, 2021
Weather: Overcast and Rainy; High Temp 77, Low Temp 70 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Friend Jane Woodin contacted me this morning and invited me to meet her at the Falmouth Senior Center for lunch. The new Center was built during Covid and just had its delayed-due-to-Covid grand opening this summer. It was my first visit, but since I have decided to avoid inside activities with other people as much as possible due to the Delta variant, I didn’t explore the Center. Jane and I ate outside in the courtyard, but then it started pouring rain. Then we did have to go inside to finish lunch. There were not that many people, so it felt safe enough and Jane and I happily talked away a hunk of the afternoon.
In fact, I think I basically talked this whole day away. I talked to my niece in North Carolina this morning, talked to Jane, came home talked to another niece from Tennessee. We talked for another hour about her mother, my sister. Then tonight I talked to my sister in North Carolina for another hour. When I finally got off the phone, I went outside to play with Shadow and a friend came by to drop off something I had left at her house and we talked. Then neighbor Andrew came over to ask what I do to prepare for a hurricane. What hurricane? I obviously haven’t been watching the weather and didn’t know that Tropical Storm Henri is expected to come close to New England on Sunday into Monday. Another neighbor had come to Andrew to tell him that if there is a storm surge it might come into his yard and he might need sand bags. Since this is Andrew’s first summer here, he was a bit wide-eyed. I explained that in the three years that I have lived here, there has only been one time when the water came a few feet into Shirley’s yard, but not his. But I did point out that the past owner kept sand bags by the gate into the walled inner yard. This storm will coincide with a full moon, so we will just have to watch carefully. While we talked, Andrew got the kayaks off the dock for me, so all I’ll have to deal with is outside tables and chairs. But I’ll wait to see what the forecast is on Saturday before doing that.
Today was not a good day for gardening as I had hoped. Maybe I’ll tape my mouth shut and get to that tomorrow!
