by Judy Handley | Apr 3, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 147, Year 7: Beautiful Spring Day
Date: Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Weather: Beautiful Day with Temps Reaching 50 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
We aren’t having a heat wave, but today was an absolutely beautiful spring
day with lots of sunshine and the forecast looks like we might expect more
of the same for the rest of the week. Today was another of those days that
seemed to slip through our fingers. It seems we get up, do a few things,
and then it is evening. I just need days with more hours, but since that is
not going to happen, I guess I’m going to have to learn to live with the
time I have. We got up late today, had a hearty breakfast, and then went
shopping for items Mark needs to do the deck work and items needed for the
new baby turtle. It was then time to pick Sam and Jonah up from school and
head home for naps. Heather went food shopping during the afternoon while I
held Oliver. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it! In between
holding Oliver, Mark did some work on the garden fencing and I did laundry.
It was not an exciting day, but it was a good day with the little ones.
We’re still working on getting an aquarium set up for William. He is in a
fish bowl for now, but by tomorrow night, we hope to have the new 5 gallon
aquarium set up with a ramp from the water to a land base for him. Sam and
Jonah are still both totally enthralled with him. And who can blame them?
He is so very tiny and precious.
And speaking of tiny and precious . . . Oliver is growing like a weed,
gaining more ounces every day. The other news is that Mark is handling this
fourth chemo treatment well. He is going to try to work all day at West
Marine tomorrow. It is their big spring sale day and Mark wants to be
there. Since the weather forecast is for even warmer weather tomorrow, I am
going to take Mark to West Marine and then go to Heather and Jed’s to do
some morning gardening. I’ll then pick Sam and Jonah up from school and
after naps tomorrow we plan to do a little egg decorating.
Tonight we talked to our friends in South Carolina, Lee and Lynda Kaufman.
We are both toying with the idea of sailing to the Bahamas for a few weeks
next winter. Their challenge is a small boat with no refrigerator and no
water maker. Our challenge would be fitting in the sailing between Mark’s
three-month check-ups at Mass General. At this point it is all dreaming,
but dreaming is good. We have had a wonderful winter here this year, but
who knows what next winter will bring. And mild or not, Mark is pretty
certain that he would like to spend the winter further south. So we will
keep planning and dreaming. Whatever we do during the winter, we will
return here for the summer months. We love our mooring in Eel Pond and we
love being close to the Heather, Jed, and boys. Now if we could just figure
out how to get Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and the new one arriving in July here . .
.
by Judy Handley | Apr 2, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 146, Year 7: William the Turtle
Date: Monday, April 2, 2012
Weather: Mixed Spring Day Ending with Sunshine, Temp Mid 40’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
I picked Sam and Jonah up at school today and all they could talk about was
the itsy-bitsy baby painted turtle they found in the backyard yesterday.
Instead of coming to the boat for the afternoon as planned, I had to take
them home so they could see the baby turtle. They named him William (no
girls in this household) and I have to admit that he is very, very cute. He
is no bigger than a quarter. So now we have baby Oliver and baby William.
Mark had his fourth chemo session today. So far, so good. The weather is
supposed to be a little warmer tomorrow which is good for him. He is hoping
to get a little work done on the deck as well as spending a good deal of the
day resting. He works on Wednesday, so he is hoping to store up enough
energy tomorrow to get him through the next day.
by Judy Handley | Apr 1, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 145, Year 7: Delightful First Day of April
Date: Sunday, April 1, 2012
Weather: Sunny, Blue Skies, Temps in the Low 50’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Despite a grim forecast, the first day of April here was absolutely
delightful. And that is no April Fool’s joke. The forecasted rain didn’t
appear until after dark and hopefully it will be gone by morning. The
sunshine gave us a balmy 77 degrees F on the deck today as both Mark and I
worked to get the starboard side ready to caulk. I also worked in a little
gardening time and replanted some seed pots that didn’t germinate the first
time around. We also took time for a mid-afternoon walk. Today we drove
part way and then walked to Old Silver Beach. It would have been a four- or
five-mile walk if we hadn’t driven part-way, and after being on our knees on
the deck all day, a two-mile walk seemed much more sensible. Tomorrow is
Chemo Treatment #4 for Mark and I’ll be picking up Sam and Jonah from school
in the afternoon. We are hoping to caulk the starboard deck on Tuesday and
Thursday of this week as Mark is working at West Marine on Wednesday,
Friday, and Saturday. Oliver’s arrival changed our schedules a bit, but now
things are getting back to normal.
by Judy Handley | Mar 31, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 144, Year 7: In and Out . . . Like a Lion
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2012
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Cool with Rain
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
March is supposed to play fair. If it comes in like a lion, it is supposed
to go out like a lamb. But this year, it came in like a lion with a
snowstorm, ice and rain. It was mostly cloudy and windy for the first five
days of the month and it was freezing at night. But by March 7 we were
enjoying sunshine again even though the wind was still blowing wickedly.
Then we had the “event”-much warmer than normal temps for days on end. It
felt like summer and was glorious, and the same time, a bit disconcerting.
A mid-March heat wave was a bit unprecedented. But now as the month is
ending, we are back to days in the 40’s, nights in the 30’s, and mostly
cloudy weather with a little rain here and there. This is typical New
England spring weather, but not weather that allows us to say that March is
going out like a lamb-at least not in my book. The lion is still with us.
I took Mark to work at West Marine this morning, ran a few errands, and then
headed to the Farmer’s Market. I met up with Heather, Jed, Sam, Jonah, and
Oliver. After we finished shopping, Jed and I went to the Children’s Museum
with Sam and Jonah while Heather headed home with Oliver. Both boys are
barely beginning to recover from colds and the cool, rainy weather just
wasn’t inviting for any outside activity. We had a great time at the museum
and then went home for lunch and a nap for the boys. I came back to
Windbird and tried to do a little deck clean-up after our huge work effort
on Thursday, but I had trouble with my handy-dandy shop vac. It just wasn’t
picking up as it should. I’m sure hoping that the hose is jammed up with
the debris from cleaning out the caulk. Before I could solve the problem,
it was time to drive back into town to pick Mark up. We haven’t been
spending as much time as usual with Sam and Jonah the past few days, and
they were both anxious to have us come for dinner. Sam insisted we come to
dinner and his parents acquiesced. Heather fixed a delicious Tuscan stew
and Mark and I enjoyed the evening out. Good food and loving grandchildren
make a great combination. And Mark and I both got chances at holding baby
Oliver. What a good baby!
by Judy Handley | Mar 30, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 143, Year 7: Time Flies
Date: Friday, March 30, 2012
Weather: Sunny but Cool
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
It is the end of the day, but I can’t figure out where the hours went. I
took Mark to work at West Marine and did a little shopping for Ziggy’s
upcoming birthday. Then I went to Heather and Jed’s and did laundry and
played with the kids. At naptime, I came home and packaged the birthday
gift, fixed dinner, went to the post office, and then it was time to drive
back into town to pick Mark up at the end of the work day. That was it. It
was not an exciting day, but I did get Ziggy’s birthday present and I got to
hold Oliver for a bit while Heather, Jed, Sam, and Jonah ate lunch. Oliver
is such a good baby and doesn’t NEED to be held, but I NEED to hold him!
by Judy Handley | Mar 29, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 142, Year 7: Productive Day
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012
Weather: Cool and Windy with Early Morning Rain
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
The weather today was pretty miserable, but here under our plastic cover, we
had a very productive day. Mark and finished preparations for our
presentation to the Falmouth Amateur Radio Association early this morning
and then Mark got things organized for working on the deck while I did some
cooking. Our good friend Tom Porat arrived late morning with his son
Matthew. I mentioned in yesterday’s log that I was Matthew’s first grade
teacher, and I must say it is so exciting to see the amazing growth from age
6 to a sophomore in college. The work on the deck is painfully slow and
tedious, and Tom and Matthew helped Mark make great progress today. We are
so grateful for their help. We started wrapping up around 3:00 so that we
could all eat a very early dinner and get Tom and Matthew on their way to
Middlebury in Vermont. Tom was taking Matthew back to school as it is the
end of the spring break week and then Tom had to drive home to Portsmouth.
What a lot of driving!
Since I fixed an early dinner, I fixed two so that I could take one
casserole dish to Heather and Jed. By the time I got back, it was time to
get dressed for tonight’s presentation to the Falmouth Amateur Radio
Association. Dick Wiklund is the current President of the group and had
invited us to speak about the importance of Ham radio during our
circumnavigation. The presentation went well and we really enjoyed meeting
a new group of people. It is easy for us to speak passionately about the
importance of Ham radio since it is what made it possible for us to send and
receive email while at sea during the circumnavigation, as well as send and
post the daily blog on the website. Truly amazing technology.
