by Judy Handley | Apr 24, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 114: First Soccer Saturday Since Fall 2019
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Winds Building; High 65, Low,46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Most of my day was spent at the soccer field . . . for the first time since the fall of 2019. It was hard to believe that it has really been a year and half since the last soccer game. But, surprisingly, even with Covid ‘adjustments, today felt ‘almost’ normal. Only two adults were allowed per player and everyone, including the players, wore masks. Those of us on the side lines also used physical distancing. But since all of that seems normal these days, I hardly noticed. But what I did notice was how much all of the boys have changed in the last year and a half. They are all so much taller! Jonah has continued to practice and play some games this school year with a different league, but most of the boys have not played in a game since the fall of 2019. They are not really playing competitively this spring. The local Falmouth travel league has simply lumped the kids together by grade levels. The teams are large enough that they can divide in half and play against each other. So due to Covid, there is no traveling, but at least the kids get to play. Again, even that seems normal these days.
Ollie had a game at 9 am, Jonah at 10:30 am, and Sam at 1:30. I came home between Jonah’s game and Sam’s to walk with Shadow and grab some lunch. Then after Sam’s game, I hurried to a local plant nursery to buy a few more herbs and then headed home to walk with Shadow again. I spent an hour proofreading the first half of the latest chapter I completed in the Voyage of Windbird. Then I spent the rest of my evening listening to the audio presentations of the first day of the Food Revolution Network’s Spring 2021 Summit. Today’s topic was: How Food Can Change Your Life. The evidence becomes more obvious and convincing each year. We all need to be eating a plant-based diet. I am not there yet, but presentations I listened to this evening were very convincing. There are three hours of presentations each day, but I listened to only two from this first day of the Summit tonight. Dean Ornish, MD, the “father of lifestyle medicine,” gave critical insights on how the right diet and lifestyle can address chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, and dementia. He reviewed the differences between preventing and reversing disease and shared some of the top insights he’s gleaned in forty plus years on the leading edge of the lifestyle medicine movement. I actually only listened to about half of his presentation. Not because I wasn’t interested, but because I had heard most of it before and because there just weren’t enough hours left in my day. But then I was riveted by the presentation of William Li, MD. He is brilliant and shared his stunning research on food and COVID-19 outcomes—all new information to me. He shared what to eat (and what not to eat!) if you want to build a healthy immune system. His book, “Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself” is one that every household should have as a reference book. My copy is in large print and is about three inches thick and every single page is jam-packed with vital information. I would love to organize a study group focusing on Dr. Li’s work. Anyone want to join me?
by Judy Handley | Apr 23, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 113: Shopping with the Goldpebbles
Date: Friday, April 23, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Very Windy; High 54, Low,44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Shopping with the Goldpebbles means going to Army-Navy surplus stores. We went to one in Hyannis, the Mass Bay Company, and then one across the bridge in Wareham called Go Bananas! The latter advertises as “a working man’s LL Bean” and the boys LOVED it. I only knew about the place from my friend Karen Baranowski. Sam, Jonah, and Ollie say, “Thank you Karen.”
Boys being boys, and being Boy Scouts, new knives for whittling and diddling were the first order of business. We found those at the Mass Bay Co. in Hyannis. Then we headed off-Cape to Wareham which should have taken half an hour. But there was construction at the Sagamore bridge, and it took us way over an hour sitting in bumper to bumper traffic when we got close to the bridge. It was a rude reminder of what summer traffic on the Cape is like—just a little early making it all the more painful. But the boys hung in there and they were glad they did because the loved the second surplus store. The one in Hyannis was neat and tidy. The one in Wareham was your more typical Army-Navy surplus, and they had way more ‘stuff’ the boys were interested in. When I look at Sam, I feel like he is twice the size he was last summer. I’m sure that is an exaggeration, but yesterday we found out that he certainly did not fit into to his life vest. So we were both glad to find one that fit. We did not find the camo pants or Carhartt overalls we were looking for, but in addition to Sam’s life vest, I got a new kayak paddle and new nets for catching critters at the beach. I have bought camo pants for the Goldpebbles at Costco in the past. But due to Covid, it has been so long since I have been there that they have all outgrown and worn out what they have—too many holes to pass down to a younger brother. And Jonah’s favorite camo jacket is two sizes too small for him. Maybe I’ll venture north to Costco next week to take a look.
by Judy Handley | Apr 22, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 112: Happy Earth Day 2021
Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Windy, and COOL: High 47, Low, 36 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Earth Day 2021 was a cool one on Cape Cod. I had to get my winter coat and gloves back out for my morning walk with Shadow and even needed my winter hat for our late afternoon walk. I wanted to do some things outside for Earth Day but decided those things would just have to wait until it is warmer. I spent my day finishing Chapter 15 about Windbird’s time in American Samoa. Mark and I spent an entire month in Pago Pago Harbor on the main island of Tutuila. The island is unbelievably beautiful place on Planet Earth and we met some very special people there. So, writing about such a special place felt like a tribute to Mother Earth. Tomorrow I will be with the Goldpebbles. Then hopefully over the weekend I will have time to edit the chapter and move on to the next island group. But in writing about American Samoa, I have decided that I would love to go back and visit there again.
Last night I talked to Justin and gang in Puerto Rico. Justin sent a text that said, “Want to Skype? We can show you Ziggy’s new braces and my new stitches.” I responded, “New stitches for what. Let’s Skype now.” Thankfully the stitches were in Justin’s leg. He somehow got cut on broken glass while building a hay shed and needed six or seven stitches. But he is fine. Ziggy’s braces looked great. I could hardly tell he had them. The upper braces are white so you have to look hard to see them. The lower braces are silver and are mostly hidden by his lower lip. He has only had them for a day or two but is already getting used to the feel. Coco has taken over my birthday present for Ziggy, a basketball hoop. She has discovered that she loves ‘shooting hoops’.
Tonight I tuned in to a one hour WGBH Zoom presentation of Boston Talks—Our Earth. It was an Earth Day conversation. There were two guest speakers, Dr. John Rowden of the National Audubon Society and Dr. Heather Goldstone of the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Dr. Rowden spoke about the importance of planting native trees and plants to support bird life and Heather spoke about the climate change. She was asked to summarize the eight hours of today’s presentations by world leaders. I loved the way she did that in such a positive way. After listening to her, I felt positive about what we CAN do rather than feeling the total despair that I often experience when I think about how overwhelming the climate challenge is that faces the world. It was a positive way to end Earth Day 2021.
by Judy Handley | Apr 21, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 111: Work and Play with the Goldpebbles
Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Windy, Very Little Rain; High 63, Low, 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a work and play day with the Goldpebbles. I picked up Sam, Jonah, and Ollie late morning and brought them to the cottage. Play was first on the list. Jonah, who is not as much of a water baby as Sam and Ollie, took off on a scooter, while Sam and Ollie launched the kayaks for the first time this year. But because it was so windy, Sam tried to sail his kayak with his towel. When that didn’t work, Ollie came back to the dock to ask me if I could get him a stick and a piece of material. He wanted to try to sail his kayak. Sam yelled back to say, “Get two sticks.” So, I returned to the dock with a mop handle, a hefty garden stake, a table cloth, and some rope. Sam lashed the two poles together, found a way to tie on the tablecloth, and off they went. First Ollie and then Sam sailed their kayaks. I think it was as much fun to watch as it was doing it. They wanted to sail downwind but ended up sailing on a beam reach. But the important thing is that they sailed and had fun doing it!
Ollie is usually my worker, but we gave him a pass today as the work involved digging a trench to bury irrigation hose and hefting heavy bags of compost. He had to have the fluid drained from his knee again, so heavy work didn’t seem like the order of the day for him. But Sam dug the trenches and hefted bags of compost for Jonah who raked the piles of compost into my raised beds. We did some of this yesterday, but I realized I needed more compost. They did a great job. We had a late lunch that I picked up at Le Bonjour, went back outside to finish up the work, and then headed into town for Sam’s 3 pm hair cut appointment. Ollie and Jonah played on the library lawn while we waited for Sam and then we made our first visit of the year to the Dairy Queen. The boys had Blizzards which are like a milkshake and not as messy as a dripping cone, so we got back in the car and drove to Woods Hole. Sam and Jonah had decided that they would like to see the location of the bells and weathervanes in Woods Hole Library Scavenger Hunt. It was last year at this time that the four of us went to Woods Hole for Earth Day to take a photo wearing covid masks while sitting beside the life-sized bronze statue of environmentalist and writer Rachel Carson in Marina Park. We then took a ‘Sam requested’ circuitous route home through Quissett Harbor and then along the water into downtown Falmouth. Great afternoon!
by Judy Handley | Apr 20, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 110: An Outdoor Day
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High 63, Low, 48 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was another outdoor day. No writing, but a lot of gardening. The weather was beautiful, so as the saying goes, “Make hay while the sun shines.” So, I did. Yesterday I went to the local feed and garden center to buy a carload of Dr. Nature’s Pot of Gold Organic Potting Soil for Heather and Jed’s deck garden. This morning, right after a six-week check-up with my chiropractor, I returned to Waquoit Feed and Garden Center and bought a carload of Coast of Maine compost for my gardens. The problem being that I could not get it out of my car. Common sense and my chiropractor both said, “Do not lift those heavy bags.” So, after Jed and the boys went to the driving range, they stopped by to unload the bags. While I was waiting for them, I spent my time cleaning out the raised beds. I’m hoping the Goldpebbles are returning tomorrow morning to help me with a few gardening tasks. This afternoon Ollie and I continued working on the irrigation system for the deck gardens at 43 Grasmere and we are just about finished. Ollie is a determined worker and in just two days, he has become very adept at putting the parts of an irrigation system together. And I made a trip to a local nursery this morning to buy some plants and more seeds. Maybe by week’s end, we’ll have the deck garden at Heather and Jed’s up and going as well as my raised beds.
My day ended watching the coverage of the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. Justice prevailed. The fact that we all knew George Floyd had been murdered by a police officer in those 9 minutes and 29 seconds that Derek Chauvin had his knee on his George Floyd’s neck was finally and officially recognized. Thanks to a very brave and technically savvy seventeen year old. Now we all have to champion a way to change our policing system so it works for all.
by Judy Handley | Apr 19, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 109: A Day of Deck Gardening
Date: Monday, April 19, 2021
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 63, Low, 44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was the first day of Falmouth School spring vacation and what a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there was very little wind, and it was warm. Hurray! The plan was for me to arrive at the Goldstones around noon and have the boys help me fill the deck garden containers with potting soil that I was delivering. I did deliver the additional potting soil, but one boy was missing when I arrived and shortly thereafter, two boys were missing. And who could blame them? Sam got a call from two good friends that he hasn’t seen very much during the past coronavirus year. It was an invite to meet downtown to have lunch and then go knock about with a soccer ball. After their lunch, they stopped by the house to pick up a soccer ball on the way to the soccer field, and we lost Jonah as he was invited to join them. But Heather she played a little work “hooky” and spent time setting up the deck containers. She filled two containers and Ollie and I worked on the other two, using Heather’s expertise to finish the job. Then she did the planting.
When Sam and Jonah returned home, we lost Ollie. All three boys headed into the backyard to fire up their blacksmith shop. Last week Jonah found a U-shaped piece of metal that he wanted to straighten. Yesterday the boys used some curved concrete blocks to build a forge using a small shop vac as a bellows to provide the blowing air to keep the fire going. Jed worked with them to make sure it was safe, and they were successful in straightening the U-shaped half inch square metal rod. Every year when we go to the Barnstable County Fair, the boys always stop and watch the blacksmith. Their attention to detail paid off with this project and they were very proud of the result.
Jed is taking the boys to the driving range tomorrow morning and I will return tomorrow afternoon to complete installing the irrigation system on the deck. There are two vertical wall planters (and Heather ordered a third today), hanging plants, a four-shelf mini-greenhouse, and two elevated raised beds placed from one end of the very long deck to the other. I installed most of the irrigation system last year, but never finished the job. Jonah wants to help me finish it tomorrow. Then we will just sit back and watch things grow. It was really exciting to see all of this come together today.
