by Judy Handley | Apr 4, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 94: Happy Anniversary to Justin and Jo on Easter Sunday
Date: Sunday, April 4, 2021
Weather: Sunny, North Winds; High 54, Low, 41 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Wednesday is my son Justin’s lucky day. He was born on a Wednesday in 1977 and he married Joanne Elizabeth Hunt on Wednesday, April 4, 2007. They had a bit of a rough day today as they had to spend much of it working on fencing on their property. Yesterday their six-month-old puppy, Lenny, got through the fencing and was shot with a pellet gun by a neighbor. Justin spent last night at the vet hospital and today repairing fencing. But still he said they managed to have a fun Easter Sunday and that Lenny should be fine. And I hope they found some time to celebrate their anniversary.
Easter Sunday here was a little quieter than usual. I did not go to Heather and Jed’s for the annual backyard Easter egg hunt. Last night just after I sent my log, I started feeling simply horrible. It became evident that I was not going to be one of those people who has no symptoms after their second coronavirus vaccine. I started chilling and every muscle and bone in my body seemed to hurt. I went to bed immediately, but I could not sleep. It was after 1:00 am before I went to sleep, but then I was up and down all night. I got up at 6:30 am to take Shadow out and I sent a text to Heather telling her I would not be coming for the egg hunt. I decided to take a couple of Ibuprofen even though I knew that any NSAID pain killer can interfere with vaccine effectiveness. At that point, I didn’t care. I just wanted to sleep. It worked and when I got up at 11:00 am I felt so much better. Ten hours of misery is not too much to ask in return for being vaccinated against the coronavirus. But it did give me just a little window into what it might feel like. I cannot imagine feeling like that, and even worse, for days! So glad to have that second vaccination. And so glad I rebounded enough to have the Goldstones over for Easter dinner and an Oma Easter egg hunt. All is well that ends well.
by Judy Handley | Apr 3, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 93: Second Vaccination at Gillette Stadium
Date: Saturday, April 3, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Still Cool; High 44, Low, 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Woohoo! I have now had my second coronavirus vaccine. Since I received my first Moderna vaccine at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, my second vaccine was scheduled for the same place.
It was a bit of a drive, but the process is so easy there. Today they were administering vaccines at Gillette West and Gillette East. My appointment time was 12:42 pm. And the appointment times were schedule for every minute. They have a big billboard in front of the parking lot that shows which appointment time they are currently accepting. As with my first time there, my appointment time came up ten minutes early. By the time I got out of my car, walked into the building, showed my appointment confirmation, took the escalator upstairs, and was directed to ‘my’ nurse, it was 12:42 pm on the dot. By 12:44 pm I was sitting in a chair to wait my fifteen minutes.
I did not take time to count how many nurses were administering vaccines at the same time, but I think it was about twenty. I waited ten minutes and then walked outside to take a photo of the stadium. The last time I was there, the turf was missing. Today it was back, ready for another season.
I drove home without stopping and went directly to Heather and Jed’s. I had a date with my grandsons to dye Easter eggs. All three boys, regardless of age, seemed to really enjoy the process. I will return tomorrow morning for an Easter egg hunt and late tomorrow afternoon they will come here for Easter dinner.
I talked to Justin, Ziggy, and Coco when I got home. I didn’t get to talk to Jo as she was outside. Justin called to let me know that an Easter gift I sent arrived, as well as Ziggy’s birthday present. Tomorrow is Justin and Jo’s fourteenth anniversary and Ziggy turns twelve on Wednesday. When Justin said ‘12’ it stopped me dead in my tracks. I’ve gotten used to the idea that Sam is a full-fledged teenager, but to think that Ziggy and Jonah, whose twelfth birthday is in June, are hot on his heels took my breath away. They are growing up so fast.
by Judy Handley | Apr 2, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 92: Trip to Hyannis Honda
Date: Friday, April 2, 2021
Weather: Sunny, but Nippy; High 39, Low, 26 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I love my little Honda Fit. But two times in the last two years, I could have been seriously injured or even killed when first one, then the other drive shaft broke causing an instant loss of power. In both cases, the car just stopped dead in its tracks with no warning. I had a guardian angel with me on both occasions as I was stopped at an intersection both times. The power loss happened just as I moved into the intersections, but not far enough in that traffic couldn’t go around me. If this had happened when I was speeding down the highway in traffic, who knows what would have happened. When the front driver side drive shaft broke, my daughter Heather and one grandson were with me. I am just thankful that no one was hurt.
Last week I received a recall letter from the Honda Automobile Division alerting me that my Fit is under recall due to the fact that “the protective coating on the drive shaft may not properly adhere to it, causing the drive shaft to more susceptible to damage from road debris . . . de-icing agents used to maintain the roadway.” I was advised to call my local Honda dealer to have this checked. I called on Monday of this week and was given an appointment today. The good news is that Falmouth Motor Car that replaced both drive shafts did a great job and Honda says there should be no further problem. And Honda should reimburse me for both installations, each of which cost about $900. The only bad news today was the weather while I was waiting. I arrived at 10 am and there was a back-up. I was told there would be at least a two hour wait, not one hour as I had been told when I made the appointment. Because of the surge of coronavirus on the Cape right now, I did not want to wait inside. The temperature outside was barely above freezing, but the sun was shining. So, I went for a long walk, stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts to get a hot coffee and found a seat in an area protected from the wind at Barnstable High School. There are no students this week due to the coronavirus surge. So, I sat and read until I was almost frozen. I decided to walk back and check on the status. When I got there, my Fit was just coming out of the work bay and I was on my way home.
I went to Heather and Jed’s to pick up Ollie and Jonah who had said yesterday they would like to come to my house this afternoon to do some work for me as there was no school today. But they were deep into a Nerf battle and Ollie then had to go to a doctor appointment. They did not end up coming with me today. Maybe tomorrow. Ollie’s appointment was with the orthopedist for a Lyme disease update. The inflammation in his knee is still there after four weeks of Doxycycline. He will continue to take the antibiotic for another couple of weeks and if it is still not improved, at some point he will be referred to an infectious disease physician at Boston Children’s Hospital and probably have to have intravenous antibiotics. The doctor today said he needs to suspend all physical activity, keep elevating the leg, and keep icing it. He really has already limited his activities, but this past week he has been playing soccer with his class at recess. I guess that needs to stop. Poor little guy. How I hate that little tick that has caused Ollie such a huge problem.
by Judy Handley | Apr 1, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 91: April Fool’s Day
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021
Weather: Overcast with a Little Rain; High 55, Low, 29 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
April Fool’s Day came a day late for me since the joke was on me yesterday. I thought March 31 was April 1. And after school today, Ollie gave me a sheet of directions to follow. It was an April’s Fool joke and I almost fell for it. Otherwise, my day was unremarkable.
I did get to write about breaking my leg in Moorea and sailing on the next day to another island. At the time, I thought it was no big deal. Just a pain to deal with. Getting on and off the boat was very difficult, but I figured out ways to do it. In looking back and writing about it, I thought I must have been on drugs to think it was no big deal. I even called Mark’s sister and brother-in-law tonight to verify what I had written in my logs. They were with me the night I broke my leg and for the next week and a half. They said I seemed to be unfazed by the whole thing. Less than forty-eight hours after breaking my leg, we were on our way to another island. And then we went on to Bora Bora where we had a wonderful few days. If we had not had guests on board, things might have been different. But I certainly didn’t want to spoil their vacation, so I think I just took a deep breath and said it was time to move on. In the introduction to the book I am writing about the voyage of Windbird, I begin with a quote by Thoreau: “What people say you cannot do, you try and find you can.” I think that truly applies to the broken leg episode. Because Mary Ellen and Lee were with us, I put forth my bravest self and then found that I could continue on without skipping a beat. Or maybe I was so in love with the South Pacific that nothing was going to keep me from enjoying every minute while we were there.
Tomorrow writing might not make it on to my agenda. I take my car to Hyannis tomorrow morning for a recall check due to a defective protective coating on the drive shaft. Then I will return home and pick Ollie up to come home with me. Tomorrow is a school holiday and he wants to work to make money for a remote control car. I have plenty of jobs to keep him busy. Not sure how long he will want to work. So I will write later in the day if I get a chance. If not, I’ll continue on Saturday.
by Judy Handley | Mar 31, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 90: Oops
Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High 62, Low, 50 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Oops! I got a bit ahead of myself. As you well know, today was the last day of March. Not yesterday as I wrote in last night’s log. Still, it went out like a lamb. Today was the warmest day yet, sunny with blue skies, just perfect. So perfect that I just could not stay inside and write this morning. After Shadow and I did our Morning Mile, I did a little garden clean up of one of my raised beds, put a bean tower in one end of the bed, and then planted snap peas around the base of the circular tower. I then moved to a square bean tower that supports a climbing clematis in front of my bedroom window. I cleaned around the base of that tower and planted snap peas there as well. Hopefully in June the Goldpebbles can enjoy snap peas here and at home. They love to pick and eat the peas right in the garden.
Just as I got inside, a friend called that I have not talked to for months. We made up for it today by talking for more than an hour. The friend lost her husband this winter and is making her slow way back to living a good life a new way. After that conversation, I had lunch and just as I sat down to write, friend Karen Baranowski stopped by. We walked down to the dock and sat and talked, again for more than an hour. But it was so beautiful to sit in the sunshine with a cherished friend and talk while Shadow kept us entertained with his antics. I have not been spending much time sitting down by the dock recently, so seeing that the osprey had returned to her nest on what my grandkids have named Osprey Island and watching purple finches flitting around in the tops of the trees in the yard was just delightful. The dock is in Shirley’s yard, my landlord and Karen’s aunt. She is currently in the hospital for the third time in the past few months due to chronic heart failure. I so hope Shirley recovers and can come home to enjoy the beautiful sights from her deck overlooking the water. She and her 102 year-old sister Doris have been at Doris’ home since last August. Hopefully, they can return here soon.
When I picked Ollie up after school, I spent some special time with him to further support his interest in birds. I got a text from Heather at Ollie’s bedtime last night asking if I could take him bird feeder shopping after school today. He desperately wants to attract more chickadees to come closer to their house. Knowing this, I picked my friend Karen’s ‘bird’ brain while we were together today to find out what kind of bird feed and bird feeder we should purchase. Karen and Peter’s side yard is a bird paradise, so I knew she had the information I needed. And I want to make clear that it was the bird knowledge part of Karen’s brain I was probing. Karen is certainly no ‘bird’ brain.
Using Karen’s very helpful guidance, Ollie and I bought two bird feeders, bird food, a huge suet and bird feed cake and hanger for that, plus a container for the bird seed. We then headed to 43 Grasmere and found places to hang everything. Ollie and I then went to the hardware store to get some grass seed to fill in some grassless areas in the front yard. Ollie spread the seed and raked it in without any help. He knew exactly how to do it. Ollie is such a good little worker.
So, I talked part of my day away, but it was so wonderful to connect with friends. I enjoyed the beautiful warm day and got some gardening done. And Ollie and I had a great time setting up bird feeders and planting grass. Ollie told me he wants to start keeping a journal to keep track of when the feeders need to be refilled and what kinds of birds are coming to feed. Since he is temporarily on restricted activity due to the Lyme disease infection in his knee, bird watching seems like a perfect activity, so I hope to find other ways to encourage his interest.
I did get a little writing done in the early evening and will resume in the morning. What I did not get to do today was write about breaking my leg in Moorea. But since April Fool’s Day is tomorrow, not today as I thought last night, tomorrow will be the perfect day for writing about that debacle!
by Judy Handley | Mar 30, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 89: Out Like a Lamb
Date: Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High 52, Low, 43 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
March came in like a lion. On the first day of March it was overcast with pouring rain. I wrote in my log that evening that it was raining so hard in the morning that Shadow and I had to abort our Morning Mile walk. I think that was the first time all winter we had to totally abort. There were a couple of days that we only walked half a mile, but one of these was the second day of March! The second day of March was just COLD. Here was my weather summary in my log that day:
March 2: Overcast with Rain; High 31, Low, 24 degrees F (as low as 2 F with wind chill)
And it went on. March 3 was a little better in that it was mostly sunny and a little warmer, but the wind was coming from the north and it still felt icy. So, based on those weather reports, I say that March definitely came in like a lion on Cape Cod.
Today, being the last day of March, was a great improvement over the beginning of the month, Therefore, I declare that March went out like a lamb. It was sunny and 52 degrees today, a little windy, but not too bad. The high temperature tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 60’s, so I might abandon my writing for a couple of hours and do some gardening. Then we get rain, but I must remember that we need those April rains to bring the flowers (and peas that I will plant tomorrow) in May and June.
I got stuck in Tahiti today in my writing. Maybe it was because Tahiti was not one of my favorite places to visit on the voyage of Windbird or maybe it was because during the time we were there Mark’s sister Mary Ellen and brother-in-law Lee flew in to visit. We were so busy that I struggled to write logs during that time that accurately reflected what we were doing. So today I had to ‘fill in the blanks’ by going back and looking at photos and researching the names of places we visited to make sure my memory was correct. But I persisted and got us back to Moorea, the island ‘next door’ to Tahiti, where we had been for a few days before sailing to Tahiti to pick up Mary Ellen and Lee. Both Mark and I loved Moorea, but I tomorrow I will be writing about one dark memory from there—the evening I broke my leg. I rarely have looked back to that time. Once it happened, I decided that I just had to deal with it and move on. And I did. It was not a terrible break, just the fibula which is the smaller of the two bones in your lower leg. Hobbling on one leg with crutches was not fun, but other than snorkeling, I did most everything I would have without a broken leg—just a little slower. And I did manage to do a version of snorkeling in Bora Bora by wrapping my cast in a huge Zip-Lock baggie intended for storing bedding to keep the cast from getting wet and then leaning over the side of the dinghy with my face mask in the water. It was a bit awkward, but it worked!
This afternoon, instead of picking up Ollie after school, I picked Sam up after school and took him to his drum lesson. Jed was at work this afternoon and Heather had a meeting at Ollie’s school, so she picked him up. Tomorrow Ollie and I have a ‘date’ after school. He wants a bird feeder and seed specifically for chickadees, so we will go shopping. He is still under doctor’s orders to limit physical activity as the swelling in left knee due to Lyme disease persists. He is in his fourth week of taking doxycycline, but because the swelling has not gone down they will extend the time he is on the antibiotic. The doctor has removed the fluid two times, but in both cases, it just came right back. He has another doctor appointment this Friday, so we will just have to wait and see where things go from here. It pains me to watch him fighting this. How can a little tick cause so much trouble?!
