by Judy Handley | Jul 27, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 208: More Woodneck Fun
Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 85, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The Goldpebbles and I had another great mid to late afternoon adventure at Woodneck. I picked up Sam just before noon and we went to pick Ollie and Jonah up from Rock Band Camp. We then went to my house for lunch and to watch the US Women’s soccer game against Australia. The game was on at 4 am this morning, so I recorded it to watch this afternoon. Neither team scored during the regular game time nor in the overtime. It was a disappointing performance by the US team, but they do get to advance to the next round. Then we headed to Trotting Park where Sam was supposed to meet friends at 3 pm to play soccer and celebrate a birthday while Jonah and Ollie were going to ride their bikes on the trails in the woods there. We didn’t find out until we got there that Sam’s soccer gathering had been cancelled, so we changed gears and went back to Woodneck beach and marsh. I was not dressed for swimming, and it was just too far to go home, so I was just going to have to watch. But Trotting Park is about 4 minutes from Heather and Jed’s, so it was quick to go there for the boys to get on their beach gear.
The late afternoon weather yesterday and today was just spectacular. It was mostly sunny and very warm which made staying at the beach longer than usual delightful. Today Heather and Jed joined us after work. Once they were both at the beach and I had finished collecting jingle shells, I headed home. Jed had ridden his bicycle from Woods Hole, so I took his bike home so he could come home a little later with Heather and the boys. When I got to my house, I took Shadow out for a ‘pee’ break and then I got a text from Heather. Jed had lost his wedding ring while at the beach. She left him there to look for it while she took Sam and Jonah to their 7 pm Scout meeting and was headed back to the beach. I immediately got back in my car and headed to Woodneck to help with the search. But Heather called while I was on my way and said that it would be more helpful if I went to their house to be with Ollie and to start getting dinner ready. By 8 pm, Heather and Jed still were not home. She sent a text saying a Scouting parent had shown up with the metal detector and they were going to continue to look. I went to pick up Sam and Jonah and then got the text saying they had found the ring. Fantastic! They have no idea how the Scouting parent heard that they needed a metal detector, but they were certainly very grateful. I didn’t want to stay at their house for dinner because I had been away from Shadow all afternoon and evening, so as soon as they got home, I headed home and started fixing dinner at 9 pm. Long day, but truly another wonderful Woodneck experience. The temperature is supposed to be a good 10 degrees cooler tomorrow, so our run of wonderfully warm evenings are over for now. But we made the best of the yesterday and today.
by Judy Handley | Jul 26, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 207: Woodneck Fun, Now and Then
Date: Monday, July 26, 2021
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High Temp 83, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I picked Sam up at 10 am to take him to friend Olga Mitchell’s to do some gardening and weeding. I then came home, walked with Shadow, went to the grocery store, and picked Ollie and Jonah up from their first day of Rock Band Camp at Falmouth Academy. Then we all went to pick Sam up at Olga’s. Jonah and Ollie were so excited to get to go into Olga’s huge garage that houses her aerobatic airplane and her Mercedes convertible, both of which this amazing woman in her mid-eighties still ‘pilots’. Quite the woman. The boys and I then went to my house to have ‘make your own’ pizzas (on English muffins) while we watched Olympic rowing. Ollie had a 2:10 pm appointment with the orthodontist, so we met Jed there to drop off Ollie and then Sam, Jonah, and I went to their house to get ready to go to the beach while we waited for Ollie.
Finally . . . we headed to Woodneck Beach and Sippewissett Marsh. Mark and I started taking Sam and Jonah to Woodneck in 2012 when Ollie was just a baby. My first photos of Sam and Jonah exploring the marsh were taken in 2013 and then in 2014, Ollie joined us. The boys have always used their shovels and buckets and nets to catch critters and move as much sand as possible from one place to another. Today we arrived as the tide was going out and we first went out to the beach side where the boys swam and dove like dolphins. Then we walked back to the marsh side and they started searching for critters. They caught a few green crabs and Ollie found the tiniest hermit crab shell I have ever seen, along with a very tiny crab.
Sam is going to high school this fall, but this afternoon, he reverted to the little boy who can move more sand with a plastic shovel than any other. He decided that he and his brothers should try to dam one of the outlets of the marsh to keep the water from heading out to sea and they did it! But as I watched Sam sitting in the sand and shoveling away, all I could think is, “Some things never change.” Thankfully. All of this took much longer than we planned and finally at 6:30 pm I told the boys we had to go home.
They reluctantly stopped working on their dam and decided to breach it and watch the water rush out. They were amazed at how fast the water the flowed out and even more amazed that they were able to use rocks and sand to block the flow for so long. It was another great Woodneck experience.
by Judy Handley | Jul 25, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 206: Dreary Sunday
Date: Saturday, July 25, 2021
Weather: Overcast, Some Rain; High Temp 73, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I don’t remember ever labeling Cape Cod summer days as dreary. But this year there are more of those days than I remember from the past. The high point of this dreary day was a birthday luncheon with friend Olivia White. It was her 83rd, so all of the females from our Dining-In Group met for a celebratory luncheon. Happy Birthday, Olivia.
I came home from the luncheon, walked with Shadow, did some garden weeding, watched a little Olympics, and then got invited to Heather and Jed’s for a fresh tuna dinner. A friend of Jed’s donated the tuna and we all enjoyed. Jed and Ollie reported that they had a great weekend at Scout camp and we all enjoyed watching more Olympics. It is difficult with so many options to decide what to watch. I decided the Goldstones need four more TV’s so everyone can watch what they want. But since that is not going to happen, they are going to have to come up with a fair way of making the decision on what they will watch when. Thankfully, here, I can watch whatever, whenever.
I ended my evening with a phone conversation with friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand. It is winter there and much cooler than here, but she is watching the Olympics the same as I am and dealing with many of the same issues. As with here, coronavirus cases are rising. But the real problem is that more than 20,000 Kiwis are vacationing in Australia and need to get home before new quarantine rules go into effect.
by Judy Handley | Jul 24, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 205: Sailing and A Full Moon
Date: Saturday, July 24, 2021
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 79, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Bruce and Jane Woodin invited me to go sailing with them this morning on L’Escargot. It was a gloriously beautiful morning, but there was very little wind. Sam Patterson was with us. He prides himself on being able to keep a sailboat going in light winds, so Bruce handed the tiller over to him. Sam kept us moving for quite a while, but then the wind totally disappeared.
We started the engine and headed for Quissett Harbor. It was the first time I have entered that beautiful harbor on a sailboat since the summer of 2015 and it brought back a flood of memories. Mark and I lived aboard Windbird in Quissett for two summers and loved it there. It is truly is a quintessential New England harbor. I heard from Sam and Dawn this week that the sale of Windbird to a new owner is official and the final papers will be signed on Friday of this next week. All I know about the new owner is that he is a young man named Toby from Texas who plans to sail Windbird around the world again. I told everyone aboard L’Escargot today that I feel like a mother whole daughter is getting divorced and remarried to someone who is going to take her far away. I just hope he treats her as she deserves.
I got sad news this evening. Doris, one of the aunties that lives next door, has been in the hospital since Monday and she had a stroke yesterday. The hospital was planning to release her this evening and her daughter Caroline was arranging for hospice to come into her home in Scituate. Doris is 102 and has lived a good life. We’ll just have to wait and see if she can survive this episode. Her sister, Shirley, is going to stay in her home next door to me until they see how Doris adjusts to the transfer. The two sisters have lived together since Shirley’s husband died in 2013, so naturally Shirley is going to want to be with Doris.
A bit of good news is tonight’s full moon. It is beautiful. And the other good news is the Olympics. I really enjoy watching each athlete achieve his or her personal best, regardless of the sport. In the 1970’s, Mark and I did not have a television. The first time I remember watching the Olympics obsessively was 1984. That was the year Mary Lou Retton from West Virginia became the first US woman to win a Gold Medal in the individual all-around gymnastic competition. Since then, with the exception of 2008 when Mark and I were sailing through Indonesia, I have enjoyed watching the Summer and Winter Olympics.
I talked to Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco on a Skype video call this evening. It is the first time I have talked to them since they returned from England. The rainy season is in full swing in Puerto Rico, as is mango season. Wish I was there to enjoy those mangoes with them. They are adjusting to the tropics after a cooler than normal time in England. A friend gave Ziggy a keyboard this week, and he is learning play amazing quickly. I love talking with them, but I can’t wait to see them. It has been two years and that is just too long. This Friday is Coco’s birthday, so I’ll get another chance to talk with them then. And then I will get to see them when they come for Thanksgiving.
by Judy Handley | Jul 23, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 204: Beach and Olympics
Date: Friday, July 23, 2021
Weather: Mix of Sun, Clouds, Even Some Rain; High Temp 79, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
This afternoon I had only Jonah and Sam as Jed and Ollie were packing and getting ready to leave for a weekend of Scout camping. The weather was strange today and changed our plans a bit. We had a beautiful, sunny morning. Like yesterday, it was a tad cooler than the previous couple of days, but it was not too cool, not too hot, just right. Then when I packed the car to get ready for the beach, the clouds came in. By the time I got to Heather and Jed’s, the skies opened up and we had unexpected rain and distant thunder. The thunderstorm was short lived, but the sky remained cloudy, so Sam, Jonah, and I went to my house to lunch instead of heading straight to the beach. Then when the sun came out, we left for the beach. The breeze “refreshing” and we mostly sat in our beach chairs and looked at the water. 
When the boys did dive in, they came out almost immediately and said the water was freezing. Instead of waiting for Heather to join us after she finished her workday, we headed home. We’ve had a few good beach days this summer, but not as many as usual. Maybe the best is yet to come, but we only have one more week of Camp Oma before we have a two-week break. Sam and Jonah go to Scout camp for a week while Jed and Ollie go to Maine. Then Heather, Sam, and Jonah join them for a week or so and everyone one comes home, but at slightly different times. Who knows what the final two weeks of summer vacation will look like. We’ll just have to wait and see.
I have been watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics tonight. I love watching all of the different countries make their entrance. I thought Team USA looked like pirates tonight, but they certainly seemed excited and ready for the next two weeks. Go, USA! And I loved that after all of the countries entered, singers from around the world sang John Lennon’s Imagine. “ . . . and the world will be one.” Just imagine.
by Judy Handley | Jul 22, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 203: Another Maui Mat Afternoon
Date: Thursday, July 22, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Cooler; High Temp 78, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The difference between a high temperature in the mid-80’s versus a high temp in the 70’s feels so very different. I woke up early this morning and felt cold. I went into the living room where I had left a fan on to bring cool nighttime air into the house and found the fan temperature to be 66 degrees and the house temperature was about the same. I turned the fan off and went back to bed with a blanket. Today was beautiful with very little humidity. What a difference a few degrees make.
Verizon came early to deal with Shirley’s phone issues. Once that was done, I took Shadow for a long walk and before I knew it, it was time to go pick up the Goldpebbles. We stayed at their house for a bit while they played on the trampoline and then we came back to my house for lunch. We stopped at Jack and Bean Stalk and got lobster rolls. Yum!
After lunch, Sam launched the Maui mat and towed it behind his kayak to get it out to deeper water for Ollie, Jonah, and Lena to play. He then came back and spent his afternoon resting up for tonight’s foray to the County Fair while the other three played in the water for a couple of hours. Lara, Lena’s mom, took a kayak out to see how the kids were doing and she ended up towing the mat back while the kids swam back. After showers, they played table shuffleboard in the basement and then it was time to take them home to get ready for their night at the fair. I ran some errands in town and then came home to fix dinner and collapse. I’m not quite sure how sitting in a chair and watching kids play in the water is so exhausting, but that I am at the end of each afternoon.
