by Judy Handley | Aug 31, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 297, Year 7: Full Moon Tonight
Date: Friday, August 31, 2012
Weather: Sunny, Warm, and Windy
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It’s the last day of the work week, the end of the month of August, and
tonight we will have the second full moon in this month. Some call this
second full moon in a month a blue moon; others say a blue moon is the third
full moon in a season with four full moons. In either case, tonight’s moon
is a blue moon. The last blue moon was on December 31, 2009, and the next
one will be in July of 2015. The blue moon in 2009 was on New Year’s Eve.
We were anchored in Patong Beach in Thailand and watched an incredible
fireworks show with a sky filled with lighted floating lanterns and that
beautiful full moon. I’m wondering where we will be in July of 2015.
Hopefully right here in Eel Pond.
We started our morning by making dinghy runs to the town dock to get water.
We cart it back to Windbird two jerry jugs at a time, put the water in the
our tanks, and go back for more. We could just take Windbird to the dock,
but somehow we avoid docking as much as possible and just prefer to carry
the water. Besides, that gives me a chance to do a little laundry. I put
it in a bucket on the dock when we make the first trip in. The laundry then
soaks while we cart water. Then on the last run, I rinse the clothes and
bring them back to hang on Windbird’s life lines. We made five runs this
morning and still need to do a couple more, but it was time for me to go to
shore to be with the boys while Heather went to work to record promos for
her Monday morning program and it was time for Mark to head to work at West
Marine. I played with all three boys while Heather sat on the grass with
her computer writing the text for her promos. Then Sam and Jonah decided
they wanted to go into the station and watch Heather while she recorded, so
I was left with only Oliver. Heather reported that Jonah sat on her lap in
the studio and Sam stood beside her while she recorded. They were so very
quiet and they really enjoyed helping momma do her work. I then went home
with Heather and kids and spent the afternoon. Heather was busy getting
ready for an impromptu yard sale tomorrow, so I mostly held Oliver. He was
having a an ‘off’ day-just not as jolly as normal. Heather thinks he might
be teething and that could be the culprit.
Tomorrow morning, Mark and I will head to Heather and Jed’s early to help
with yard sale set-up. Mark will then go to work and leave us to hopefully
get rid of a bunch of ‘stuff.’ If it doesn’t sell, Jed will spend his
afternoon hauling things to the dump. One way or another, Heather is set on
getting rid of a few things tomorrow. Sunday is a busy day for all of us.
Heather, Jed, and kids have a couple of birthday parties to attend and as I
have mentioned in a previous log, we have friends from Concord, NH, coming
down to go for a sail and then on Sunday evening we are sailing through the
‘hole’ to Buzzards Bay to meet up with friends who will dine aboard
Windbird. On Monday morning, we will go back through the ‘hole’ in time for
me to get to shore to help Jed with the three boys while Heather works. She
works until noon on Monday and then we are hoping HJJS&O can join us for
some end-of-summer fun on Devil’s Foot, a tiny little island in the outer
harbor. Tuesday is a down day for everyone, and then on Wednesday, Mark
goes to work, Sam goes to kindergarten for the first time, and Jonah returns
to the Woods Hole Daycare Cooperative. Then we start planning our fall
activities. It looks like Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco will be flying here
in mid-October to spend a couple of weeks. So we are all excited by this
possibility.
This evening three young boys came rowing up to Windbird in their skiff.
The youngest was one of Dr. Stephen’s sons, Henry. The other two boys were
in their teens and are Dr. Stephen’s nephews. They introduced themselves by
saying that Henry’s mom had met us yesterday (Henry’s mom is Mark’s
parathyroid surgeon.). They wanted to know how many days it had taken us to
sail around the world and when we replied that it took us six years, they
were wide-eyed. Then they wanted to know what our favorite stop had been.
Everyone asks that and we have no good answer. We loved too many places for
there to be a favorite. Yet the Galapagos, Thailand, and Madagascar get
high marks from both Mark and I.
by Judy Handley | Aug 30, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 296, Year 7: Back to ‘Number One’
Date: Thursday, August 30, 2012
Weather: Sunny and Warm
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Mark and I headed back to Mass General Hospital today, this time for an
appointment with a surgeon having specialties in hyperparathyroidism and
non-invasive parathyroid surgery. I’ll get to the details of that in a
minute, but first I must remark about the ‘number one’ status of Mass
General. As we drove down the streets of Boston close to Mass General, we
noticed the banners along the street declaring Mass General as #1. We were
aware of this status when we visited a month ago, but the city has now had
time to take official action to promote this honor. Theis comes from the US
News & World Report 2012-2013 Best Hospitals Honor Roll. Johns Hopkins has
held this position for the past 21 years, but now Mass General has moved
into that position. We feel so lucky to be able to take advantage of the
expertise at Mass General.
Now back to today’s visit. Mark has had blood tests every two weeks for
months as part of his chemotherapy regimen and during that time his calcium
blood levels have risen and stayed high. For that reason, his oncologist
referred him to a parathyroid specialist to check out the problem. High
levels of calcium in the blood usually mean that one or more of the four
parathyroid glands has stopped functioning properly and needs to be removed.
That condition is called hyperparathyroidism. The parathyroid specialist we
met with in July recommended waiting a year before taking any action, but
she did refer us to a surgeon to get a second opinion. Today we met with
that surgeon, Dr. Antonia Stephen. She graduated from Harvard Medical, did
a stint at the Cleveland Clinic, and then took a position at Mass General.
We were impressed from the moment she entered the examination room and it
was obvious that she is our kind of doctor. She has conducted original
research on the topic of locating parathyroid glands (the size of a grain of
rice and not easy to find) and she manages the endocrine surgical database
at Mass General. Our relationship was furthered when we found out that Dr.
Stephen lives in Woods Hole during the summer just a block from Eel Pond and
that it was her children and her nephews that delivered a gigantic stuffed
penguin to the boat next to us in the mooring field last week. Small world.
She reviewed the reports, talked with Mark, and then made her recommendation
that we proceed to surgery as soon as possible so that Mark will be ready
for our trip south in November. She set a surgery date the end of
September, but she has ordered a specific sestamibi/parathyroid scan to be
done early next week to try and locate which of the parathyroid glands might
be the problem. In 80 per cent of the cases, it is just one of the glands
that is the offender. An in-office ultrasound today showed nothing. If the
sestamibi doesn’t show anything, there is one additional scan that will be
done. If surgery still looks like the answer, it will be done on Friday,
September 29. It is non-invasive and is basically an in-and-out surgery.
Mark might be asked to spend the night depending on how the surgery goes,
but there is really no recovery time. Mark won’t be able lift heavy objects
for a month, but other than that, life should go on as usual.
After leaving Mass General, we crossed the river into Cambridge and did a
little food shopping at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods before heading back to
the Cape. We went to Heather’s when we returned so Mark could do a little
work on the car. Last week we discovered that we had a leak in our fuel
fill line. That meant that there was a drip-drip of fuel when we were
filling the tank. It was going to cost $250 for the part plus labor to get
it fixed. So Heather and Jed’s next door neighbor, Brian, showed Mark how
to find the same part for less than $100 on Amazon. We ordered the part and
it arrived yesterday. In just twenty minutes, Mark had the part installed
and this car problem solved. We then went downtown to the Thursday Farmer’s
Market with Heather and boys. Tomorrow Mark goes to work at West Marine and
I think I’ll be watching the boys while Heather goes to work for a bit in
the morning. Who knows what the afternoon shall bring?
by Judy Handley | Aug 29, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 295, Year 7: Yet Another Canning Day
Date: Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Weather: Back to Sunny Weather
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
While Mark worked at West Marine today, I went to Heather’s to can the
tomato sauce we processed yesterday. Over the past week and a half we have
canned 42 pints of sauce from locally-grown organic tomatoes-not quite a
pint a week for the year, but close. If we bought these pints at the local
Farmer’s Market we would pay $5 for each one. We can go to the grocery
store and buy organic sauce for half that price, but it is very important to
us to have locally-grown food. Sam and Jonah have caught on to this and are
actually starting to ask where the food they are eating is grown. But we
are putting a halt to the canning until the next wave of green beans come in
from the garden. There are just too many other things to do.
Tomorrow Mark and I head to Boston. Mark has an appointment with a
parathyroid surgeon to get her opinion of what should be done about his
hyperparathyroidism issue. For whatever reason, one or more of his four
parathyroid glands is not functioning properly and as a result the amount of
calcium in his blood is too high. And the high blood calcium means it is
coming from his bones. He is getting treatment for the loss of calcium in
his bones, but if possible, he would like to solve the problem-not just
treat the symptom. So we will see what the surgeon suggests tomorrow.
Mark works Friday and Saturday at West Marine and we have a fun day planned
for Sunday. Good friends, Scott and Kelly McPherson, and their three little
boys will come to Woods Hole and join us for a day sail. Then in the late
afternoon, we will head through the “hole” to Buzzards Bay and meet up with
Susie Klein and Jim Hammitt in Hadley Harbor. We met Susie in our HAM radio
classes a few months before taking off around the world. She was getting
her HAM license because she and Jim were heading across the Atlantic to the
Med. Jim was going to be on sabbatical in Toulouse, France, for a couple of
years and they wanted to have their sailboat, Reveille, close by. They
spent two years in France, came home, and then went back for another two
years. Susie emailed last night saying they would be in Buzzards Bay this
weekend, so we were able to make arrangements to meet. Then on Monday we
plan to head back to Woods Hole, and hope to get Heather, Jed, and boys
onboard for a day of swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking in Great Bay (the
harbor just outside Eel Pond). Labor Day is the official end of the summer
season here and we want to celebrate it in style.
Heather and I talked to Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco on Skype today. Coco is
now a month old and she is a beautiful baby. It was great to see her and to
talk to Justin and Jo about the possibility of getting the Handley-Goldstone
crew together as soon as we can, possibly flying JJZ&C here before we leave
the first of November. We’ll have to see how that plays out, but I am very
anxious to see Ziggy again and get a chance to hold our newest grandchild.
by Judy Handley | Aug 28, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 294, Year 7: All About Tomatoes
Date: Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Weather: Rain Overnight and During the Morning, Mostly Cloudy Afternoon
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Last week Heather and I processed 30 pounds of tomatoes, then 20 pounds, and now today 45 pounds. We would have to do this total volume again to even begin to reach the goal of having enough marinara sauce to make it through the winter, but regardless, we are going to shut down the tomato factory tomorrow and turn our attention to other end-of-summer activities. Trying to supply yourself with local food grown organically is no easy task. But we do feel we made a valiant effort. And today, we had to pick the tomatoes in the rain while Sam and Jonah played in the rain and Granddad walked about with Oliver in the stroller. So we think we should get extra points for that.
It has finally dawned upon us that summer really is coming to a close. And we still haven’t finished our early spring job list. I haven’t sanded and varnished the teak on Windbird and the stainless hasn’t been polished this season. We need to get the batteries taken into a place to have them equalized, and the list goes on. All of this is complicated by the fact that Mark starts back to work on a regular schedule tomorrow. At least through September, it looks like he will be working Wednesday through Saturday of each week. So September is going to be a busy time.
by Judy Handley | Aug 27, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 293, Year 7: Special Moments
Date: Monday, August 27, 2012
Weather: Partly Cloudy Day, Rain Forecast for Tonight and Tomorrow
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Today was one of those special moments in time. It was not Sam’s first day
of kindergarten, but he did go to school for an hour and a half introduction
to kindergarten with Heather and Jed. We just can’t believe he is so grown
up and will be going to ‘real’ school starting next week. He’s been in
pre-school, but this seems so very different. I kept Oliver and Jonah and
we walked over to the school to meet Sam, Heather, and Jed at the end of the
orientation. Jonah and I got to see Sam’s classroom and meet his teacher,
Mrs. Creighton. She’s very easy going and I think she is the perfect
kindergarten teacher for Sam. He is such a perfectionist and puts so much
pressure on himself, but I think Mrs. Creighton might be able to relax him a
bit. Sam’s good friend, Sebastian, will be in the classroom across the hall
and they will get to see one another on the playground. So Sam is really
excited about going to school. Jonah will be continuing to go to the Woods
Hole Daycare Cooperative three days a week, but he is really going to miss
his big brother. They have not been in the same class at the Daycare, but
on the playground, Jonah has always preferred to play with Sam and his
friends. Now they won’t be there, so the next couple of months could be
challenging for Jonah. But it could be a good time for him as he can be
Jonah instead of Sam’s little brother-the plight of being number 2.
Yesterday Heather was asking me about homework in kindergarten. I told her
that I didn’t think it would be an issue. Some math programs have take-home
assignments to be worked on by parents and children cooperatively and I gave
Heather an example of a first grade homework assignment. The assignment
was, “Whose picture is on the dime?” Heather reached for a dime, but still
had no idea who it was. Then today, I posed the same question to Jed. He
had some ideas but started out warmer than where he ended up. I didn’t tell
them, and I’m not going to tell you. But I will tell you that it has
something to do with the March of Dimes. That might help is you are old
enough, but I’m hoping you will do a little research to figure this one out.
Until 1946, Lady Liberty, in many different poses and styles, graced the
front of the dime. When I was Sam’s age, a Lady Liberty with wings on her
head was still very common. But eventually the 1946 dime with the picture
of a certain president became the common image.
by Judy Handley | Aug 26, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 292, Year 7: Lovely Day in Vineyard Sound
Date: Sunday, August 26, 2012
Weather: Still Beautiful
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
We had a lovely day in Vineyard Sound. We headed out at the 11 am bridge
opening and once out in Great Bay, I drove in circles while Mark went back
in the dinghy to pick up Heather, Jed, Sam, Jonah, and Oliver. They made it
to Woods Hole by 11:00 but there wasn’t time to go ashore and pick them up
and still get out of Eel Pond by bridge opening time. Normally the bridge
raises every half hour, but the bridge has been having ‘technical
difficulties’ so they have reduced the number of times it has to raise and
lower each day. Once everyone was onboard, we raised the main and put out
the headsail. We had a nice sail down to Tarpaulin Cove, nice that is until
the wind died. We ate lunch on the way to Tarpaulin so that when we got
there we were ready to head to shore for some fun in the sun on the beach.
Sam and Jonah had on their new Speedo shorty dive suits and they looked so
cute-like little surfer dudes. Oliver was dressed in white and blue and
looked very much like a little sailor. We played on the beach and then
Heather and Jed took the big boys for a walk while Mark and I stayed on the
beach with Ollie-boo. That has become Oliver’s nickname. Sam was always
Sam-bug and Jonah was always Jonah-bear. Now we have the Ollie-boo. And
what a bundle of joy he is. He laughs and giggles and keeps us all
entertained.
The trip home was a motor as the only wind we had was on the nose. But we
had the current with us which made it a quick trip. We returned to Eel Pond
at the 5 o’clock bridge opening, had dinner by 7 pm, and then the ‘boys’
(minus Oliver) went to shore to get ice cream cones. Heather stayed onboard
with Oliver and got him to sleep while I made up the beds for the night.
Heather has to be at work early in the morning but my hopes of going to the
beach with the boys have been deferred. I had forgotten that Sam has a fun
day in his kindergarten classroom from 11 to 12:30. So Heather will go to
work early and then as soon as her Monday morning call-in show is over, all
of us but Mark will head into Falmouth. Mark will leave around 9am to head
into Boston for an appointment with his urologist. So goes another busy
day.
