by Judy Handley | Oct 18, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 291: Phenomenal Fall Day
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2020
Weather: Sunny and Beautiful; High 60, Low 44 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
From start to finish, today was an absolutely phenomenal fall day. The weather was perfect with full sun shining all day. Sam, Jonah, Shadow and I got up at 7 am in order to get Sam off for a morning rowing regatta and Jonah off for his first soccer game since last fall. When the boys woke up, they called for Shadow and he gleefully jumped into bed with them for a bit of an early morning frolic. It is amazing how much boys and rambunctious puppies are alike! Heather picked Sam up and Jed picked up Jonah. That left Ollie and I to have a relaxed morning together. We watched a couple of episodes of The Axel Show and then Ollie decided he would like to go see Sam’s regatta. By the time we got on the road, I got a text from Heather saying that they were wrapping up due to the increased winds. Ollie still wanted to do something special, so we drove to the nearest beach from where we were when we got the text from Heather. We actually ended up at a beach a couple of miles from the one we thought we were going to, but it was a great choice. In the summer it is a ‘residents only’ beach, but this time of year there is no one to check. And there were no signs saying dogs had to be kept on a leash. Ollie used the ChuckIt to throw tennis balls as far as he could and Shadow chased ball after ball. Sam had called as he and Heather were headed home from the regatta and asked where we were. I told him and he said they were going to head that way. Heather dropped Sam off and drove on to get back to Falmouth to be with Jonah as Jed had another commitment. So then Sam and Ollie ran and threw tennis balls for Shadow. Then Sam decided that he just had to get into the water, so he dove in. We didn’t even have a towel, but I assured him we would find a way to protect the car seat and keep him warm on the drive home. He romped in the water like a puppy. Since the air temperature and the water temperature were almost the same, he said the cool water was not so much of a shock. After his little swim, he headed to the car and Ollie continued building a little sandcastle using the ChuckIt as a shovel. A couple walked by and asked if we would like them to take a photo of us. The man offered to take the photo but he didn’t have on a mask. So he ducked his head inside his sweatshirt as I handed the camera to him. He said he thought we were having a special moment that should be recorded and I couldn’t have agreed more. When we got home, we found out Jonah’s soccer team had won their game and that he had scored one of the goals. He has just been with this team for two weeks, so he was over the moon with his success. Just this much would have been a great day. But on we went.
Heather had seen photos of Falmouth folks hand harvesting cranberries in a community bog that is totally natural and organic. She found out the location and after lunch we headed there. Since she had seen the photos last weekend, she assumed there would be slim pickens, but that was not the case. When we walked into the bog, all we could see was a natural field with cranberry plants covering the ground, sharing the territory with tall grasses, briers, and other weeds. But when Sam bent down to take a closer look, he squealed with joy. Yes, a thirteen year-old can still squeal with joy. How wonderful. Hidden beneath the matted green plants there was an abundance of deep red cranberries. At one point, Heather heard me say, “This is so much fun.” She called over to ask if I was being facetious. It did sound that way, but I was serious. Just like the boys, I was really enjoying harvesting cranberries by hand. For all of my years here on the Cape, the boys and I have watched the commercial fields harvested by being flooded with water and then big machines brought in to reap the harvest. Somehow picking them by hand seemed so simple and so right. I really was having fun and Shadow was having a great time running through the bog and eating cranberries.
But wait. We still were not finished. Next on the list was the annual trip to Tony Andrews farm to pick pumpkins from the field. I had to leave Shadow in the car for this activity, but the Goldpebbles each got a little red wagon and went running through the pumpkin patch looking for just the right pumpkin to carve. Sam, who usually doesn’t want to pose for a photograph, decided that today was the day for family photos. So I got one in the cranberry bog and another in the pumpkin patch.
It was just a perfect day and at some point when I was talking to Sam about the water temperature at this time of year, I realized that on October 18, 2005, Mark and I sailed out of Boston Harbor to begin our travels around the world. There were no grandchildren back then. A little over year after leaving Boston, Sam came long, then two years later, Ziggy and Jonah. Mark and I flew home for the birth of each grandchild and then Ollie and Coco were born once we were back home. Mark and I spent 6 of the 15 years traveling around the world, then we spent 5 years here on the Cape battling Mark’s cancer. But during those 5 years, we continued to live on Windbird and he got to know and enjoy his grandchildren. I have spent the last 4 of those 15 years learning to live alone without Mark and learning to live on land once again. I miss him so much, especially on a day like today. Once we were based here on Cape Cod, we both loved the annual pumpkin patch trip and loved watching the harvesting of the cranberry bogs. So, here’s to Mark, the fifteenth anniversary of the beginning of the Voyage of Windbird, and the ninth anniversary of spending glorious autumns on Cape Cod.
by Judy Handley | Oct 17, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 290: Goldpebble Overnight
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2020
Weather: Chilly AM, Sunny PM; High 58, Low 41 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
An hour and a half ago, I tucked in the Goldpebbles and have been catching on email communication with family and friends since then. I keep bugging Heather, asking her what I can do to be helpful, so she asked if I would have the boys over so she and Jed could have a night to themselves. Jonah called it a date, but I don’t think they were going out. I think they just wanted some adult alone time. And, of course, I was very enthusiastic about the idea as I love having the boys come stay over. It will be a different this time as Sam and Jonah have to be up and ready for take-off at 8 am. Sam has a rowing regatta in Harwich which is a good hour’s drive and Jonah has his first soccer game. I am not sure of the location for that. I just know we have to get up at 7 am and have a hearty breakfast so Sam and Jonah be ready for their activities. Heather will take one kid while Jed takes the other. Ollie will stay with me and shown some interest in going to see Sam rowing in the regatta. But then tonight he said he would just like to stay here with me and do some ‘projects.’ So, we’ll see what the morning brings.
I spent my day cleaning house. Having the boys come gave me the incentive to do that. I have been enjoying life too much all summer and into the fall to worry about house cleaning. But it was painfully obvious to me today that I need to spend a couple of days, not just a couple of hours, doing some deep cleaning. And then I need to get down in the basement and do a reorganization. I’ll reserve rainy days for these mundane cleaning chores or just do a little bit each day. Maybe that is a better strategy. I went to pick up the boys at 4 pm and by the time we got here it was almost 5 pm. This is a weekend when we have often gone to the Wellfleet OysterFest, but there since there is no OysterFest this year due to Covid, the 20th annual Oyster Shucking Contest was streamed on YouTube. The boys wanted to watch the contest, so that is how we spent our evening. They love cooking shows, and this was a little like that. There were many suggestions for how to prepare oysters. Sam and Ollie were more interested in the Shucking Contest than Jonah, but all found it interesting enough to watch. I think watching a shucking contest on YouTube was probably much more interesting than watching it in person. Afterwards, we had pulled pork on homemade buns for dinner along with mac and cheese and a salad. Jonah doesn’t eat pulled pork, but Sam and Ollie made up for that fact by eating enough for at least three people instead of just two.
by Judy Handley | Oct 17, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 289: Shopping Circuit
Date: Friday, October 16, 2020
Weather: Overcast, A Little Rain; High 70, Low 48 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Today was another traveling day. I did a bit of a shopping circuit up Route 3 toward Boston, across Route 24, and back down to the Cape on I-495 and MA-28 and home. I really wanted to take some crucial parts to the lightweight wheelchair I have loaned my nextdoor neighbor Doris to her in Scituate. When she and Shirley moved back to Doris’ house in Scituate this summer, they didn’t take the lightweight transport chair with them. But when I went up to celebrate Doris’ 102nd birthday last week, they asked that I bring the chair. I went into Shirley’s house to get it, but I totally forgot to get the footrests. When I carried the chair in, Doris, a very alert 102 year-old, pointed out that I had forgotten the very important parts. You can’t use the chair without the footrests, so today was my day to take them up to Scituate. As long as I was going there, I offered to pick up some soccer shorts and a shirt for Jonah at Dick’s Sporting Goods near Doris’ house. And as long as I was that far north, I decided to come home via the New Balance Outlet on Route 24. Ollie’s brand-new New Balance sneakers arrived this week and an essential eye for the shoelaces pulled out on the second day he wore them. He was so sad and getting a replacement was going to take a few days. The Outlet didn’t have the exact replica, but they had a pair that will work as a substitute. He thanked me at least four times for getting the replacement shoes for him. Shadow went with me and we made a stop at Costco for a noontime walk. I got back on the Cape about 5 minutes late for Ollie’s afterschool pick-up. I was almost panicked wondering what he would do if I was not there on time. But not to worry. Mr. Tom, who leads the walkers from the school to the traffic light and across Route 28 every day, was there with Ollie when I arrived. I was so thankful that he waited with Ollie. This reminded me that I need to go buy a pumpkin tomorrow. I saw on Facebook that a friend in my wine group does a ‘thankful pumpkin’ every year. She starts at the top of the pumpkin and spiral writes a thankful message each day leading up to Thanksgiving Day when the inscriptions on the pumpkin are read aloud. Mr. Tom will get my first inscription.
I spent the rest of the afternoon and into the evening having fun with Shadow. Ollie, Sam, and I took him to the Dog Park and played with Lilly Bernadette, a Bernedoodle that we met yesterday, Rocky, an Airedale Terrier and poodle mix that we also met yesterday, and a few new dogs. There was a big dog named Abby that was quite aggressive, but she and Shadow ended up being friends. Then we went on a family walk around the Grasmere neighborhood. Ollie and Shadow jogged and sometimes Shadow pulled Sam on a skateboard—not a quiet walk, but a fun family time.
by Judy Handley | Oct 15, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 288: Museum on the Green Tour
Date: Thursday, October 15, 2020
Weather: Beautiful Fall Day; High 71, Low 61 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
What a beautiful day, in every way. I attended a morning long tour of the Museums on the Green in downtown Falmouth, had lunch with friends at a Greek restaurant on Main Street, and ended my day by picking Ollie up from school and then taking Ollie and Shadow to the Falmouth Dog Park to play. And yes, I did watch the Joe Biden Town Hall on ABC tonight. or
Good friend Olivia White organized a special tour of the Museums on the Green (MOG) for the Newcomers Teacher Group today. MOG is closed due to Covid except for their outdoor historic walks a few mornings each week. But Olivia was able to arrange for us to do some inside touring, promising that the groups would be limited to four people, all wearing masks. And she also arranged for us to have a presentation by Falmouth artist Karen Rinaldo. In the 1990’s, Karen was commissioned to paint an historically accurate depiction of the first Thanksgiving in 1621. The result changed her life as the painting took on a life of its own. It hung in Plimouth Plantation for 20 years and it was to be on display in the Museums on the Green in Falmouth this summer and on through 2021. Because of Covid, it has been there, but the public has not been able to come in to see it on display. Today, in our small groups, we were allowed to view the painting while having the artist describe to us the process used in its development. Then we took a walking tour around the green, learning more about the history of the people who founded the town and learning the history of the Village Green and the surrounding churches and homes. This included the Congregational Church founded in 1708 housing a bell made by Paul Revere, St. Barnabus Episcopal Church founded 1888, and the first home of Katharine Lee Bates who wrote America the Beautiful. Falmouth is lucky to have such an active historical society that works hard to keep history alive.
When Shadow and I picked Ollie up at the end of the school day, Ollie wanted to go where he could play ball with Shadow. We first went home to check in and then we headed to the fenced soccer fields at Trotting Park. Unfortunately, there was a team practicing, so we couldn’t let Shadow run free. Ollie suggested we try going to the Falmouth Dog Park. I took Shadow there once when he a tiny puppy and neither of us enjoyed that experience. But I was willing to try that again and today’s experience was great. When we arrived there were too many people and dogs in the main area, so we headed to the small dog enclosure. But there were three dogs there that didn’t appear particularly friendly. But the owners were friendly and they suggested we use the area dedicated for dogs new to the park to let Shadow get acclimated. There were no dogs there, so it was perfect. Ollie could use the ChuckIt to throw the tennis balls a long distance and Shadow ignored the dogs in the enclosures on either side and just played ball. Then we saw that the small dog enclosure was empty, so we went there. A bernedoodle named Millie, a cross between a Bernese mountain dog and a poodle, joined us and the two dogs really enjoyed playing together. Then we saw that the main dog area was almost empty, so we all moved to that enclosure. There was a much larger Airedale terrier named Rocky in that enclosure and he immediately established himself as top dog. But that was fine with Shadow and he just continued to romp and play with other dogs that arrived. At one point Rocky almost knocked Ollie over, but Ollie handled it like a pro and declared that he was having a great time. So maybe Ollie and I will take Shadow back to the park after school a couple of afternoons a week. Another great Falmouth treasure.
by Judy Handley | Oct 14, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 287: Planting Strawberries
Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 67, Low 54 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
What? Planting strawberries in October? Well, yes. And I haven’t lost my mind. It was really transplanting strawberries from summer hanging pots to one of my raised beds. I have no idea how this will affect the plants, but I was afraid that leaving them in the hanging pots for the winter would certainly kill them. These were hanging pots that I planted for Heather’s deck and it just didn’t work out because the birds ate all the strawberries. In the raised bed, I can easily cover the strawberries with netting, so hopefully we’ll get a good crop next summer.
What else did I do today? I harvested basil and made pesto to freeze for use this winter. I used a recipe suggested by friend Jane Woodin. She uses the Moosewood recipe. The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen was first published in the 1970’s. I don’t find my original copy on my cookbook shelf, so I must have given it away. But some of the Moosewood recipes from that book are my lifetime favorites and I think the pesto recipe will be added to my list of favorites. I did a taste test and it was delicious. Jane swears that you can add the parmesan cheese and then freeze it. Others say you should not add the parmesan before freezing. But when I freeze it without the cheese, I always forget to add it later. Sure hope this works.
I had a great Skype call with Justin, Coco, and Ziggy this evening. Jo wasn’t home until the very end, but I did get to say hello to her before we signed off. I also picked Ollie up after school. I took Shadow with me and I introduced Ollie to the new ChuckIt! that helps launch tennis balls for Shadow to fetch. Shadow loves it so much and if you have the ChuckIt! in your hand, he will follow you anywhere. We enjoyed time in the backyard playing catch with Shadow. And I spent a bit of time making donations to the Biden-Harris campaign and to Warren Democrats in honor of my niece Lynn. Lynn worked so hard as an Elizabeth Warren for President volunteer and after Warren got out of the presidential race, Lynn continued to work encouraging people to get out to vote and she worked as a Warren Democrat to get down ballot Democrats elected around the country. So, I felt really good about my time making donations today and thinking about Lynn.
by Judy Handley | Oct 13, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 286: The Loss of Lynn Denise Martin
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Weather: Pouring Rain; High 64, Low 52 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
My niece, Lynn Denise Martin, passed away peacefully in the early hours of the morning. Even when you know the death of someone you love is imminent, it is still difficult to face the finality. But while I was waiting for an annual dermatology examination this morning, I got the call from Lynn’s sister Candi. Candi explained that Lynn’s mother, my 86 year-old sister-in-law Sue, would be flying home to Florida tomorrow morning at 5:30 am. So I rushed home to pick up the eggplant parmesan I made on Sunday for her and I headed to Billerica, north of Boston. We went out to lunch twice in the past couple of weeks. Both times she wanted eggplant parmesan and neither restaurant had that as an offering. So I wasn’t going to let her go home without sampling it. That, plus I just needed to be close to family. I’ve written here before that my brother died when I was a senior in high school and Sue moved back home to Massachusetts with her three children. But my family kept in close contact over the years. Lynn was 10 years old when her father died. She was the first of the 11 grandchildren my parents would eventually have.
I was seven when Lynn was born and 17 when she moved back to Massachusetts. The most memorable thing about her as a young child was just how very smart she was. She loved to watch television and memorized the commercials. My sister Patsy tells of a time when took three-year-old Lynn to the grocery store. Lynn saw a man buying cigarettes and she told her Aunt Patsy she had to go tell him something. Before Patsy could stop her, little Lynn walked over to the man and told him he should consider buying the new brand with a flip top. Her advice to the man was, “It’s much easier to get the cigarettes out.”That was Lynn. She became a writer and spent her career as an editor for the College Board, for IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and for Harvard Public Health. She was deeply political and most recently volunteered for the Elizabeth Warren campaign. In the first year that Mark and I were sailing around the world, she flew to Samoa to visit with us. I choose to share some photos of her on that trip here as they are show what she loved doing. She would get up early every morning to write and loved spending time reading on the beach. And like me, she loved history and was very excited about climbing Mount Vaea to visit the tomb of Robert Louis Stevenson. Engraved on that tomb are the words of his epitaph, written by him. “Here (s)he lies where (s)he longed to be, Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill.”
