by Judy Handley | Apr 27, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 117: From Cape Cod to North Carolina
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Weather in Charlotte: Rainy Arrival; High 61, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home with Tommy and Marilou Martin, Huntersville NC
Note: When I wrote yesterday’s log, I recorded the high and low temperatures in Charlotte, NC, not in Falmouth. It was NOT 61 degrees yesterday, but only in the 40’s. No wonder I was cold.
It was a long day today, but at 8 pm my plane landed in a very foggy, rainy Charlotte, North Carolina. After getting my rental car, I drove north to Huntersville to my nephew Tommy’s home for the night. As I drove into the driveway, I got a call from him saying to back out and drive down the street to a friend’s home. It was pouring rain, but Marilou came out to flag me down. Tommy and his wife Marilou and my cousin Rex were at the neighbor’s house watching the NFL football draft taking place in Kansas City. Another neighbor was at the affair, so the neighbors here were having a “watch” party. Once we headed home to Tommy and Marilou’s we stood around the kitchen island talking past midnight. Good to be here.
This morning I took Shadow to Bruce and Jane Woodin’s. They are keeping Shadow for me while I am away. Bruce and Jane, you are my Superheroes! I know Shadow will be treated like a king. I just hope Bruce and Jane can survive keeping my little buddy. I love him and miss him, but he can be a little rambunctious.
by Judy Handley | Apr 26, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 116: Day Off
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 61, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The high temperature today was 61 degrees F, but I was chilly all day. I had a list of things to do before leaving for North Carolina tomorrow, but you what? I didn’t get those things done. I gave myself the gift of a day off and did only what I wanted to do. Tomorrow morning I’ll be sorry. But then I’ll be on a bus and then a plane to Charlotte and whatever those things that needed to be done will be a distant memory. I did spend a lot of time getting my March and April photos in order. I always update and save my photo files on a hard drive before any trip, just in case something should happen to my computer while traveling. I did get that done. And I took Ollie to saxophone practice.
While playing in the yard with Shadow this evening, I saw a woolly worm.
It is almost May and usually they have spun a cocoon and are ready to emerge as moths by this time of year. At least that is what I thought. Whatever, that just added to my feeling that it was just too chilly today. Hopefully North Carolina will be a few degrees warmer.
by Judy Handley | Apr 25, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 115: Repeat, Boat Work and Sam to Rowing
Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 65, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a repeat of yesterday, starting with morning work on the boat, late lunch at home, then off to Harwich with Sam and Shadow at 3 pm. Shadow and I walked in the bogs beside Hinkleys Pond while Sam rowed.
In between all of this, I continued my online search for dresses for my sister to wear to her granddaughter’s black tie wedding in August. The bride, Jessica, specified that Patsy must wear black, champagne, or nude—all my sister’s worst colors. She eliminated nude right off the bat. Now, one day she goes with champagne, but the next day she says if she has to look awful, maybe she should just wear black. I had hoped to have something for her to try on while I visit North Carolina this weekend, but it is proving harder to find the ‘just right’ choice, in the right color, and in a size 0 or 2 on such short notice.
I have also been doing online research into teak finishes for Heather and Jed’s boat, but time is running out. Not sure what we are going to do. Whatever, one way or another, the boat goes in the water on May 29. At least we have all the old varnish removed. Maybe it will just stay naked for a year and get “dressed” next spring! We need to turn our attention to getting the bottom ready for splash down. It cannot go in the water without being “dressed”, so that has to become the first priority.
by Judy Handley | Apr 24, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 114: Varnish Removal Done, Sam to Rowing in Harwich
Date: Monday, April 24, 2023
Weather: So So AM, Sunny PM; High 64, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Finally, I can say that any varnish removal that I can do on Heather and Jed’s boat is done. Woohoo! There is still the removal of varnish on the underside of the bow sprit and the toe rail, but that has to be done from a ladder and I will not be doing that. Tomorrow I will go do some sanding, some clean-up, and then I will work on covering the wood that has been sanded to protect it from moisture until we can get back to work. Since Heather and I are both going to be in North Carolina this weekend and Jed will be busy carting boys from soccer game to game, no boat work will happen until the following weekend. The boat has it’s winter cover on, but it is canvas and has developed a few leaks, thus the need to protect the sanded teak from moisture. It has been a bit of work getting that varnish removed, but I actually look forward to getting back and starting the process of applying new protection to the wood.
I got home from the boat at 1 pm and spent the next hour and a half eating lunch, relaxing a bit, and taking a shower to get rid of the sanding dust from my morning’s work. At 2:30, Shadow and I took off to go pick up Sam and take him to Harwich for rowing practice. After practice, he ate the dinner I bought for him, and then I dropped him off for soccer practice at Monomoy High School in Harwich where he met up with Sebastian and Jonah. I then headed home as Sebastian’s mom would take him home.
Tomorrow will be a repeat of today—boat work and driving Sam to Harwich to soccer practice and then home to Falmouth to his weekly Scout meeting. Wednesday is my day to get ready to travel and Thursday I am off for North Carolina.
by Judy Handley | Apr 23, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 113: Reinforcements for Boat Work
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Rain Beginning in the PM; High 53, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The Goldstones made it home from their week in DC with Grammy Marti late last night and I had reinforcements for boat work this afternoon. Even with all of us working, we still have parts of the toe rail and the underside of the bow sprit that need varnish removed. I hope to finish the toe rail tomorrow, all but the underside that will have to be done from a ladder from below. We also started sanding today. I will do a couple of hours tomorrow and again on Tuesday, but then I will set aside boat work and get ready for my trip to North Carolina for the Celebration of Life for my niece who died in September. I leave on Thursday and return on Tuesday. Heather will fly down on Friday evening after work and return on Sunday.
I joined the Goldstones for dinner, and everyone shared the experience they liked most this week. Sam loved his tour of Georgetown University. Can I really have a grandson old enough to be looking at colleges?!!! Jonah liked the tour of the monuments at night and the zoo. Ollie loved all of the different food adventures, foods from around the world. And he was also very proud of the fact that he stood on the exact spot where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream Speech.” Heather agreed with Jonah and Ollie, loving the tour of the of the monuments at night when they are all lit up, various zoo experiences, and the foods from around the world. Jed enjoyed the tour of the Capitol but was disappointed that they didn’t get to see the Senate and House chambers. Something for next time. The highlight of my week was my tour of the Massachusetts Alternative Septic Systems facility. It was a great school vacation week for all.
by Judy Handley | Apr 22, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 112: Earth Day 2023
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 53, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Invest in Our Planet … the theme for Earth Day 2023. I hope each of you spent a bit of time today considering how you presently invest in our planet and how you can do more.
I had a good day with an intended relaxed morning. I headed out of here by 10:00 am to be out of the way of the realtor who was having an Open House here today. I took dirty laundry and Shadow to Heather and Jed’s, fed the kitties, started the laundry, and secured Shadow in the ‘red room’ over the garage. It is the bonus room and is called the ‘red room’ because the carpet is a deep red.
Once Shadow was settled in, I left for the boat. As I stated in last night’s log, I hoped to be finished with varnish removal today. Silly me. I made great progress, but some of the places are just too hard for me to get to without compromising my back and knees. I have a bit more I can do, and then I will have to wait for help. I heard from Heather that they got caught in terrible traffic in Connecticut and were going to have to stop for dinner and arrive home around 9 or 10 pm. Hopefully they are home by now. She invited me to dinner tomorrow night so I can hear all about the week in DC.
Just got off the phone with my friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand. In only six weeks she will be coming to spend the summer in Michigan with her family. And she will come to visit with me as well—just not sure of the timing yet. Whenever, it will be great to see her.
