by Judy Handley | Jul 3, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 184: Mini Golf Brightens a Rainy Day
Date: Saturday, July 3, 2021
Weather: Overcast with Rain Off and On All Day; High 63, Low 56 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
What do you do on the third straight rainy day of a holiday weekend? One option is to ignore the rain and play mini golf. Heather and family have been camping in the rain since Thursday and they refused to let it dampen their spirits. On their way home today, Heather sent a text saying they were going to the Sandwich Mini Golf Course and then to Sweet Caroline’s for ice cream. Would I like to come? YES!!! The Sandwich course has 36-holes and we played the whole thing with very little rain. The boys like this course because a stream runs through it which gives them the opportunity to retrieve the balls that inevitably go astray and land in the water. Also, the Cape Cod Dinner Train that runs between Hyannis and Bourne goes right by course and it is always fun to listen to the train whistle and watch it pass by. We had only misty rain once in a while. Lucky for us, the pouring rain came down once we were had our ice cream and were on our way home. A good time was had by all and the Goldstones are one mini golf course and one Cape Cod ice cream shop closer to their goal of visiting all of them this summer.
by Judy Handley | Jul 2, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 183: Lunch Celebration
Date: Friday, July 2, 2021
Weather: Overcast with Light Rain All Day; High 71, Low 61 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Heather, Jed, and boys seem to be surviving camping in the rain. Heather sent a photo of Jonah and Ollie fishing late in the day but she didn’t say if they caught dinner. I started my day by going to feed Mel and Leo, the Goldstone kittens, and Zuzu the guinea pig. Heather and Jed have an entry way and then a glass door that enters the rest of the house. The door is always kept closed these days to make sure the kittens don’t get out. This morning they were both sitting patiently waiting just inside the door for me to feed them. It was so cute, but I didn’t think fast enough to get my phone out to take a photo. Tomorrow morning I’ll be ready.
At noon, Karen and Peter Baranowski and Midge Frieswyk joined me at Shirley’s home across the driveway for a lunch celebration. Since I missed Shirley’s 96th birthday luncheon on Monday, this was my make-up birthday lunch plus we celebrated the beginning of the Fourth of July weekend. I made it easy on myself by buying lobster rolls and potato salad from Jack in the Beanstalk, a little locally owned market. I added a fruit salad for dessert and we all enjoyed. I can only hope if I live to be 96, or a 102 like Doris, that I am as mentally alert and sharp-witted as those two women.
by Judy Handley | Jul 1, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 182: Totally Lazy First Day of July
Date: Thursday, July 1, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Late Afternoon Rain; High 86, Low 73 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Heather, Jed, and boys left this afternoon for two nights of camping at Nickerson State Park in Brewster up near the Cape Cod Bay. The park has lots of ponds for swimming, a bike path, and hiking trails, but the weather forecast is for rain for the whole time they will be there.
They got rain just as Sam was building the fire for cooking dinner, and hopefully that was their only rain for the evening. At least here in Falmouth, we have not gotten more rain. Heather posted a photo of a roaring fire on Facebook with the caption, “Come what may . . .” So even if they do get more rain, I hope they will find creative ways to enjoy their camping trip.
With no Camp Oma today, I took full advantage and did almost nothing. It seems like every single day since the official first day of summer has been jam-packed with activity, so I truly enjoyed the day of nothingness. I did make a quick run to Hyannis this evening to pick up some items from Whole Foods that I can’t get in any of the stores here. But that was it for me today.
by Judy Handley | Jun 30, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 181: Trampoline Water Park, Beach, Wine Group
Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High 84, Low 73 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The Goldpebbles and I packed a lot into this last day of June. I thought we were going to the beach, but just as I was leaving home, I got a text from Heather saying the boys had set up a misting hose and had turned their backyard trampoline into a waterpark adventure and they were not going to be ready to head to the beach quite yet. So, we adjusted plans and I watched as they had a great time keeping cool. Their goal was for each of them to be able to do two bounces on their bums and then land on their feet, one Goldpebble after another. They practiced and practiced and achieved their goal which resulted in squeals of joy. They then headed to the deck to make roll their own roll up for lunch and then we were off for a couple of hours at Menauhant Beach. As has become their beach routine, Sam plays hard in the water and then takes breaks to sit on the shore staring at his phone. Typical teenage behavior. Jonah and Ollie play hard in the water and then expend more energy digging in the wet sand and making fortresses of one sort of another.
At 5 pm, I handed the boys off to Heather who came to join in on the beach fun and I headed to a gathering of my wine group. We met all winter on Zoom, so it was a true treat to meet in person. Our theme was New Zealand wines and I took a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc along with copies of a photo taken when Mark and I visited that vineyard . . . the most beautiful we visited. The photo shows the beautiful, cloudy, and layered mountains that are the backdrop of Cloudy Bay Vineyard. My memory of the evening is a little cloudy. I think I enjoyed a little too much wine!
by Judy Handley | Jun 29, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 180: Laid-back Soccer Day
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High 74, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
When the Goldpebbles were younger, Camp Oma summer days were planned and organized ahead of time. But as the boys have gotten older, each summer has become gradually less focused on organized activities and more on just enjoying summer days. I take my cues from the boys now, not the other way around. So today they were feeling lazy and decided they didn’t want to go to the beach. They watched the England-Germany soccer game on television, fixed their own lunches once I set out the choices, and then we went to Trotting Park. Sam was meeting other members of his soccer team for a couple of hours of practice on the soccer field. Ollie and Jonah planned to spend that time in the adjacent skatepark on their scooters. But after a bit of that, they decided they wanted to play soccer, too. We went home to get soccer gear and they got themselves invited to play with Sam’s friends. When I took them home, Heather decided that we all needed to head to the closest beach to cool off, so we did. It was another wonderful summer day.
by Judy Handley | Jun 28, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 179: Afternoon at Menauhant Beach
Date: Monday, June 28, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Windy; High 77, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Sam is going to high school in the fall (How is that possible?) and Jed took him for an organized tour from 12 to 1 today. This, plus the boys seem to move like turtles these days, delayed at arrival at Menauhant Beach.
It was a beautiful beach afternoon even though it was very windy. Recently, when we have gone to the beach and it is windy, I have needed to wear a long-sleeved shirt to keep warm. But not today. The wind was coming from the southwest and it was warm. I was so hot while at Heather and Jed’s getting lunch for the boys that I had to take off my blouse that I use as a beach cover-up. And I forgot to put it back on. Thankfully, it was not a problem. The air temperature was 80 degrees F and that along with the full sunshine, kept me warm. The boys dug a hole so they could sit in it and be protected from the wind. Ollie and Sam frolicked in the water while Jonah sat on the beach relaxing. I told him he looked like Mr. Hollywood. And they played spikeball on the beach. While much of the country seems to be boiling hot, I’ll take our beautiful weather here on the Cape.
Today’s weather is supposed to continue for the next couple of days, so we will take advantage of it and go to the beach again tomorrow. Heather met us at the beach after work. Jonah is still a reluctant swimmer, so she plans to meet us on as many afternoons as possible to encourage Jonah to swim with her.
Today my neighbor, friend, and landlady celebrated her 96th birthday. Ollie and Jonah made cards for Shirley, and we delivered the cards with a dozen roses and sang happy birthday to her. The boys are so thankful that Shirley lets us use her dock and store our kayaks under her deck. They expressed that in their cards. Happy Birthday, Shirley!
