by Judy Handley | Jun 20, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 225, Year 7: Happy Summer
Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Weather: Beautiful Day
Location: At Heather and Jed’s in E Falmouth, MA
Summer solstice was today and the weather here on Cape Cod was summer
perfect. Solstice was actually a day earlier than normal due to the fact
that this is a leap year. Usually it is on the 21st of June, our
daughter-in-law Jo’s birthday. To celebrate the official entrance of summer
I went to the beach in Woods Hole with Heather and all three boys for the
morning. We then had lunch on Windbird before returning to Heather’s.
After naps, we all played in the backyard. Heather brought out a tray with
a chocolate treat and cold drinks for all. Jonah was swinging when I gave
him his chocolate treat and he beamed saying, “This makes me so happy.” I
agreed with him. Heather and Sam continued having fun using the push lawn
mower and then Sam got out the hose with a sprayer to cool himself down. It
was a fun summer day and we are looking forward to more beach fun tomorrow
morning.
What was I thinking last night when I wrote that things were getting back to
normal? I’m pretty sure there is no such thing, and I know we are not going
to reach that state any time soon. Even though today was a lovely summer
day, we are dealing with all sorts of issues. Mark still has his cold and
now he thinks he has another bladder infection. Ugh! Jonah is recovering
from his double ear infection, but now we think the baby might have an ear
infection. Oliver’s cold is really still bothering him and he cries out
from time to time like something really hurts. Heather might take him to
the doctor tomorrow. I guess we’ll see how he makes it through the night.
Jed left today for a conference in Italy, and Heather hasn’t had more than
three hours sleep for the past couple of nights due to sick kids. So Mark
and I moved back in with Heather for a few days. She has often had the two
boys for a week while Jed has been gone, but having three boys, with two of
them sick, is another story. We will pitch in as we can and hope to find a
way for everyone to get the rest needed to enjoy this beautiful weather.
by Judy Handley | Jun 19, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 224, Year 7: Getting Back to Normal
Date: Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Weather: Sunny Morning, Partly Cloudy Afternoon
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Slowly we are recovering from our weekend trip. Mark’s cold persists and he
can hardly talk, but I do think he is just a tad better. At least he is not
worse. He worked on his public radio consulting this morning and slept all
afternoon. I went to Heather’s this morning to pick up some food we had in
the freezer there. It was a beautiful morning and Sam ‘hinted’ that it was
really the perfect day to be on the boat, so I invited Sam and Jonah to go
back to the boat with me for lunch. Sam then continued his planning and
suggested that we stop and get bagels, cream cheese, and smoked salmon for
lunch. It was a great suggestion and we really enjoyed our picnic lunch on
Windbird’s deck. I then took the boys home for naps and got my first chance
to hold Oliver since we got back from our trip to West Virginia. He slept
on my shoulder while Heather, Sam, and Jonah napped, so it was a quiet, and
much needed restful afternoon for all. Jonah and Oliver still have their
colds and neither have been able to sleep peacefully for the past few
nights. So Heather and Jed have been up more than usual. Jed leaves for a
week in Italy tomorrow, so Heather needs to get as much rest as possible so
she can make it for a week as a single mom. We’ll pitch in as much as
possible and hopefully everyone’s colds will be better and night times will
be easier.
After naps, Heather assembled Jed’s Father’s Day present. She got him an
old-fashioned push lawn mower. She got it because their current lawn mower
needs extensive repairs and she wanted to go low tech with zero emissions.
Jed was not as enthusiastic as Heather about the prospect of cutting grass
with a push lawn mower with no motor, but the trial run this afternoon might
have changed his mind. It is incredibly easy to push-so easy, in fact, that
Sam was not only able to cut the grass in the flat part of the yard, but
also on the hillside. He could easily push the mower up the hill and then
run down with it. Jonah was much happier with this lawn mower as it makes
no noise (he hates the loud noise of the motor of the old mower) and Jed was
get good exercise using this mower. So it looks like a win-win situation.
This mower even comes with a bagger so we can still use grass clippings to
mulch in the garden. If it really is as easy to use as it appeared this
afternoon, I think more people need to look at this alternative.
by Judy Handley | Jun 18, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 223, Year 7: Travel Lag
Date: Monday, June 18, 2012
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with Drizzle in the AM, Some Sun Late Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
It’s been a slow day. The long days of travel over the past few days have
gotten to us. Mark is really feeling terrible and has been in bed or
sleeping on the settee all day. His cold is just not getting any better,
and that plus the fatigue from the chemo has him pretty much wiped out. If
he doesn’t start getting better tomorrow, we will go to the doctor, but I
think the doctor is just going to say he needs more rest. So we’ll keep
doing that. Fourteen hours of travel on Thursday and seventeen hours
yesterday was probably just a little too much.
I got up and went to Heather’s this morning to help Jed with the boys. This
morning was Heather’s first Living Lab program. It is currently a half-hour
science call-in show that will be on the air at 9:30 am and 7:30 pm every
Monday. Today’s show was about the BP oil spill. Heather interviewed a
senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute that was a member of
the team of scientists who discovered the underwater oil plume. There is a
huge lawsuit underway, so there was much that could not be talked about, but
there was enough to make a really interesting show. Sam and Jonah listened
to the program with Jed and I, but their attention started to drift about
half-way through. We made it to the end of the program, but then I took the
big boys outside to play while Jed stayed inside with Oliver. We had an
early lunch and then I read stories. Heather got home about that time and
Jed took off for work. I got Jonah down for a nap, but Sam didn’t sleep.
He rested and then got up and went outside to play after I left. I know
Heather really needed a nap but I had to leave to go to the store and then
go home and fix a late lunch for Mark. So unfortunately, I couldn’t help
her. I’m planning to go over in the morning just long enough to pick up
frozen chicken broth for Mark. Then I will go back in the afternoon and
hold Oliver so Heather can hopefully get a nap.
Slowly, ever slowly, life will get back to normal-if there is such a thing
as normal in this world.
by Judy Handley | Jun 17, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 222, Year 7: Happy Father’s Day
Date: Sunday, June 17, 2012
Weather: Mix of Clouds and Sun, Temps in the Upper 70’s
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Happy Father’s Day to all of you fathers out there, especially to the
fathers of my grandchildren, Justin and Jed. I still can’t believe our son
Justin is a father and will be having another baby in just a little over a
month. Where do those years go? I don’t think it was much of a Father’s
Day for Mark since he had to sit in a car all day and night and felt lousy
because of his cold, but both Heather and Justin called him and cheered his
day. Justin was hoping to go fishing with Ziggy for Father’s Day, but Jed’s
day got co-opted by sick babies. Oliver has a really bad cold and Jonah’s
cold turned into a double ear infection. Jed spent his Father’s Day morning
taking Jonah to the doctor. Hopefully Justin and Ziggy caught some fish and
had a great day. We’ll just have to plan something special for Jed and Mark
at a later date.
Our trip home from West Virginia didn’t go quite as smoothly as the trip
down, but we made it home safely just before 11 pm and went to bed
immediately. We left the hotel at 6:30 am after having breakfast with my
sister and her husband and made great time until we got about a mile and
half from the George Washington Bridge in New York City. It took us almost
two hours of inching forward to get across the bridge and on our way again.
But that two hour delay meant we didn’t get home until late. My niece’s
husband met us at a point in Massachusetts where we could head south to the
Cape without having to take Candi all the way home. That saved us a lot of
time, but Mark left his wallet in the back seat of Candi’s car and that
delayed us once again. We realized this almost immediately once we got back
on the interstate, but both cars had to get to the next exit in our journeys
south and north and turn around and go back to our meeting point again. And
then Mark and I stopped at MacDonald’s to get a grilled chicken sandwich and
unfortunately it was the slowest McDonald’s we have ever encountered. It
took a full 15 minutes of waiting. So one little delay after another turned
our day of travel into a long one. But if Char hadn’t met us, it would have
been after midnight when we got home, so we are very thankful for his
suggestion of meeting us. Thank you, Char.
by Judy Handley | Jun 16, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 221, Year 7: Having Fun in West Virginia
Date: Saturday, June 16, 2012
Weather: Mostly Sunny Day
Location: Mardi Gras Casino Resort, Cross Lanes, West Virginia
Today was all about having fun. My nephew Rex’s friend from childhood, Brad
Spurlock, and his wife Renee, threw a party for Rex and Diana and invited
everyone who came to the wedding. Brad and Renee live on the river and have
a phenomenal location for parties. They have a huge yard and steps leading
down to a dock and their own private beach. There were kayaks, canoes, and
floats for those who wanted to be in the water, and music and great food for
those who wanted to hang out on land. In addition to the afternoon party,
my sister and I, plus two of my nieces, did another history tour. This time
we explored the town where my sister and I grew up. Actually my sister is
about fifteen older than myself and lived in the southern part of the
state until the mid-1940’s, but then spent her junior and senior high school
years here. There’s more I’d like to share, but it is late and we are
leaving VERY early in the morning. So more tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jun 15, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 220, Year 7: Congratulations to Rex and Diana
Date: Friday, June 15, 2012
Weather: Mostly Sunny Day
Location: Mardi Gras Casino Resort, Cross Lanes, West Virginia
My nephew Rex married Diana Sayre this evening. Rex and Diana are both in
their fifties, but this was Diana’s first marriage. She was a beautiful
bride and everyone seemed so genuinely happy for them. After the ceremony
we walked to a restaurant on the river and enjoyed a lovely reception. Then
it was back here to the Mardi Gras Casino Resort where family and friends
are staying. Tomorrow the wedding fun continues with an afternoon party at
the home of friend. We leave very early on Sunday morning and Rex and Diana
fly to the Galapagos for their honeymoon. When we met Diana’s mother
tonight, the first thing she said is, “So you’re the ones.” She was
referring to the fact that it was Mark and I that encouraged them to go to
the Galapagos. We can only hope that they enjoy their time there as much as
we did.
