by Judy Handley | Mar 28, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 141, Year 7: Gearing Up for Busy Thursday
Date: Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny AM, Rainy PM, Warming Up
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
We started our day with a routine visit to the oncologist. They do a blood
test and then Mark meets with the doctor to review how he is doing. So far,
so good. He lost a couple of pounds in the last two weeks, but otherwise
all of the vitals look great. After the appointment, we made a trip into
Falmouth to do a little shopping. We also stopped by Heather and Jed’s.
They had called earlier in the morning to say that Oma wouldn’t be needed
today. Sam coughed all night and now Jed is getting the cold, so everyone
stayed home today. Oliver is doing great and is starting to get himself on
a schedule. He slept for longer periods last night which is great news.
Mark and I spent the rest of the day down in the main cabin hiding from the
rain. We worked on the presentation we will give tomorrow evening to the
Falmouth Ham radio club and I did a bunch of cooking.
Tomorrow good friends are coming to help Mark work on the deck. Matthew
Porat and his dad, Tom, will arrive from New Hampshire mid-morning.
Recently we visited the Porats in Portsmouth. Detta and I taught together
in Concord and I was Matthew’s first grade teacher. He is home on break
from Middlebury College and really wants to come help us for a day. So we
are going to put him to work assisting Mark in doing the sawing of the
grooves on the starboard side of the boat while Tom works on removing the
caulk from the port side. I’ll be the galley slave and finish preparations
for tomorrow night’s presentation in the morning, and will probably pick the
boys up from school as usual. So it will be a busy, busy day.
by Judy Handley | Mar 27, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 140, Year 7: Grandkids and Friends
Date: Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny, Still Windy (up to 35 knots), Cold Tonight
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Tonight we had dinner at Claire and Dick Wiklund’s, and as always, Claire
served a wonderful dinner. The main dish was Arctic char, a fish that is a
cross between a salmon and a lake trout. We had never had it before and it
was delicious. And I loved the salad. It was slices of smoked salmon
smothered in fresh lettuce leaves and served with a slice of lemon. So
simple, but so good. Fresh raspberries were the heart of the dessert. S it
was a delicious meal. And before dinner we spent time talking with Dick
about the presentation we will give on Thursday night for the Falmouth HAM
radio club.
When we got home, we had a Skype video call with Justin, Jo, and Ziggy.
Justin had called this morning when I was out shopping saying that Ziggy
wanted to show Oma his hamsters. So tonight we got to see Ziggy and the
hamsters, plus talk with Justin and Jo. Mark spent his day working at West
Marine. I spent my day taking Heather and Oliver shopping and spending the
afternoon with Sam and Jonah. Oliver was a perfect angel and stayed in the
car and slept as I watched. We drove to Hyannis to shop, but we were back
in Falmouth in time for me to pick up Sam and Jonah. I brought them here to
the boat for naptime, and they both had great naps. So I got to spend much
of my day watching grandbabies sleep. All I could think is how lucky I am
to be able to have this time with my grandchildren. It made me miss Ziggy
even more than ever, but tonight’s Skype call helped.
by Judy Handley | Mar 26, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 139, Year 7: Trip to Boston
Date: Monday, March 26, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy (up to 40 knots), Freeze Tonight
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
March came in like a lion and then we had a heat wave that made it feel more
like summer than spring. Now we are back to cool weather (daytime temps in
the 40’s) and tonight is supposed to be in the mid-20’s. Freezing!
Hopefully this is short-lived and we can get back to a happy medium.
We drove to Boston today for Mark’s appointment with his urologist, Dr.
Cutie, at Mass General Hospital. Mark’s appointment was a follow-up to the
TURP procedure he had done in mid-February and the doctor was very pleased.
The procedure did what it was supposed to do and there have been no
problems. Dr. Cutie did testing to see if Mark has a bladder infection and
he does not. So the issues he had at the end of last week were related to
the chemo as the oncologist told Mark on Saturday.
After the appointment, we did some food shopping in Boston and then headed
home. We came back to the boat and worked on the deck for an hour or so and
then we went to Heather and Jed’s. We delivered some food items we had
bought for them and enjoyed time with Sam, Jonah, and Oliver. Oliver is
doing great. He spends a lot of time sleeping, but when he has an awake
time he is quite alert. And he is so very, very cute. Sam and Jonah just
adore him. Sam likes to sit and rock him and Jonah wants to constantly hug
and kiss him. Both boys like to help when he needs a diaper change, and
that is quite often. Tomorrow morning I will go with Heather and Oliver on
a little shopping trip. Jonah was born in June so his hand-me-downs are
short-sleeved, and right now Oliver needs long sleeves. He has lots of
clothes in the 0-3 month range, but right now he needs premie and new born
sizes. Mark works at West Marine tomorrow so I will take him to work, shop
with Heather and Oliver, and then pick the boys up from school and bring
them to the boat for the afternoon. I’ll take them home, pick Mark up from
work, and then we head to Dick and Claire Wiklund’s for dinner. Busy, busy.
by Judy Handley | Mar 25, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 138, Year 7: Healthy Eating Creates Galley Challenge
Date: Sunday, March 25, 2012
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with Periods of Rain
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
I seem to spend a great deal of my time these days searching out the
healthiest foods to eat and then preparing them. And I am finding this to
be quite a challenge in a sailboat galley. The first problem is created
because the organic, locally grown veggies and meat are only available on
Saturdays. That means I have to buy for the whole week and then find
storage space. That’s the issue. Refrigerators and freezers on sailboats
this size are just not big enough. I can store one container or lettuce or
baby spinach and one of cooking greens, but the cancer-fighting kitchen
recipes all call for fresh mint, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh cilantro,
fresh this, and fresh that. I’m trying to find a way to grow enough of
these things in pots so I don’t have to store them in the refrigerator, but
that is another challenge. I have grown a pot of basil and another of
arugula, but really only have spaces for those two pots. Now I want to grow
baby spinach, flat parsley and cilantro, mint, sage, oregano, and cherry
tomatoes. I keep thinking that where there is a will, there’s a way. Stay
tuned for the solution to this challenge.
We didn’t step foot off the boat today. It was cloudy with periods of misty
rain, so we just stayed onboard. Mark worked on the deck and in the
afternoon I joined him. Cleaning the caulk out of the grooves between the
teak boards is a huge job but Mark just about has one side done. My job is
to do clean up as well as get the caulk out of the grove next to the cabin
top. I only made it down half the way on one side, but I will get there. I
spent the rest of my day cooking.
Tomorrow we are off to Boston and right now I am off to bed.
by Judy Handley | Mar 24, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 137, Year 7: Taking It Easy
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny, Temps Cooling Down
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
We didn’t sit still, but we did take it easy today. Mark is feeling much
better and after talking to the oncologist today, it seems all the strange
symptoms are not strange at all-just a part of chemo. According to the test
results he doesn’t have a bladder infection, but the oncologist ordered
additional testing just in case. We won’t have those results until Monday
afternoon, but the consensus is that all is fine.
I got up and sent some long overdue emails to friends and then Mark and I
headed into town to run a couple of errands and go to the Farmer’s Market.
I’m still adjusting to the prices at the Farmer’s Market, but we are buying
organic, locally grown vegetables and meat and that is always going to be
more expensive than what you can buy at the grocery store. There are no
conclusive scientific studies to prove it, but there are volumes of
anecdotal evidence pointing to the fact that what you eat during and after
chemotherapy plays a huge part in whether or not cancer will return. And
the “what” that is always referenced is eating certain vegetables and meat
that have been grown without antibiotics and chemicals. The more natural
the process, the better it is for you. So we’ll continue to pay the price
and find ways to grow more things on the boat. Next thing you know, I’ll
find a way to keep chickens. Just kidding.
We bought a couple of things at the market for Heather and Jed. That gave
us a great excuse for stopping by to see the boys. Oliver didn’t let
Heather get a great deal of sleep last night, but otherwise he’s doing
great. We ended up having lunch there which gave both of us good chances to
hold Oliver. I’m a bit like Sam and Jonah in that we are in awe of this
little peanut of a baby. I could sit for hours and just look at his little
hands and feet. They are just too cute. But it was time to move on and get
home so we could get in our daily walk. The rest of the day was spent
walking, filling the water tanks, putting away the food we bought, watering
the seedlings we are growing in our deck “greenhouse”, and fixing dinner. A
good friend from South Carolina, Lynda Kaufman, wrote this morning to tell
us that she now knows what is wrong with us. We don’t know the meaning of
“down time.” Well, Lynda, today was as low key as we can get. We didn’t
sit still, but we didn’t move fast. Does this qualify as “down time” in
your book? We tried!
by Judy Handley | Mar 23, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 136, Year 7: A Little Family History
Date: Friday, March 23, 2012
Weather: Overcast with Rain Early, Beautiful Afternoon, Unseasonably Warm
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Oliver Preston Goldstone arrived home from the hospital at noon today. Jed
sent out an email to family and friends earlier in the morning announcing
Oliver’s birth and that is when I found out his middle name. We knew it was
going to be either Maxwell or Preston and the family connections to the name
Preston won out. On Thanksgiving Day we were at Sue and John Reed’s home in
Cambridge. Sue is Jed’s mother’s sister and while some were napping
mid-afternoon, I asked Sue to give me a quick overview of their family
history. At one point she was talking about her Uncle Pres. I immediately
chimed in that I also had a Great Uncle Pres and neither of us has ever
known anyone else by that name. At that point in time, Heather and Jed were
struggling to come up with a name for another boy, so Sue and I thought
Preston might be just the name since it was a name in both Heather’s and
Jed’s families. I related that conversation to Heather and Jed and now we
have another Preston. Heather has asked me for information on my Uncle Pres
a couple of times, but somehow we never really got to talk about it. So
I’ll relate the Preston connection here.
William Preston Miller was one of fifteen children born of Wilson Miller and
Rebecca Jane Campbell, both with good Scottish surnames. My grandmother,
Sidney Jane Miller Biggs was one of the fifteen children and was Preston’s
younger sister. I don’t know why he was called Pres instead of by his first
name, but when I was little girl, we would go visit Uncle Pres and another
of the brothers, Uncle Lundy. The parents, Wilson and Becky Jane, lived in
Wikel, West Virginia. Wilson was born in 1844 and died in 1898 from wounds
he sustained in the Spanish American War of 1898 (fought in Cuba and the
Philippines). That left Becky Jane in Wikel. She lived to a ripe old age
and the little valley where she lived is now called Becky Jane Holler. In
other parts of the world a holler would be a hollow, but not in Appalachian
English. When Heather was four, Mark and I moved to Wikel and lived there
for five years. I used to take Heather and Justin out on the ridge above
Becky Jane Holler to pick blackberries, so hopefully someday Oliver will get
to visit Wikel and pick blackberries, too.
Mark worked at West Marine today but had to take a little time off to go to
a lab to have some testing done. He is either having some side effects from
the chemo or he is having bladder problems again. Thankfully, he has a
follow-up appointment with his urologist in Boston on Monday. We will have
the results of the today’s lab tests and hopefully Dr. Cutie will be able to
sort out the problem. Mark was not feeling great yesterday, but he is
better today, so probably the issues are just standard side effects. At
least that is the hope.
It has been a busy, eventful week, so we will take it a bit easy this
weekend. I say ‘a bit’ as I know we’ll find too many things that we think
just have to be done. Yesterday Mark bought a new Dremel saw tool that he
hopes will help with the work we are doing on the deck. And I know he is
going to want to try that out. I think I feel the restful weekend slipping
through my fingers.
