by Judy Handley | Mar 16, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 129, Year 7: Unexpected Trip to the Hospital
Date: Friday, March 16, 2012
Weather: Intermittent Light Rain All Day
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Everything is okay, but we did have an unexpected trip to the hospital late
today. Heather found out yesterday that she has developed a condition
called cholestasis of pregnancy and the doctor called this afternoon
requesting that she come to the hospital to have more extensive blood work
done. Jed went with her and when Sam, Jonah, and I went to pick up
Granddad, we got a call from Jed requesting that we bring the boys to the
hospital for a maternity ward get-acquainted visit. The newest little
Goldstone is not going to be an April baby after all. He is going to come
sooner rather than later. Because of the cholestasis, he will be born,
either naturally or induced, in the next ten days. So all of a sudden, it
was time for Sam and Jonah to “meet” the hospital where their new little
brother will be born. Cholestasis of pregnancy or obstetric cholestasis is
a condition where the liver is not able to perform its normal functions. It
is not usually a long-term problem for the mother, but it can cause very
serious complications for the baby. Therefore, once it is diagnosed, the
risk of waiting to have the baby naturally is just too great. After being
so very sick last weekend, Heather started itching severely on the bottoms
of her feet and on the palms of her hands. The itching was so intense that
she couldn’t sleep, so she called her doctor. They did initial blood tests
yesterday and made the diagnosis. Thankfully by last night she found a
combination of lotions and sprays that relieved the most severe itching and
she was finally able to get a little rest. She will spend the weekend
trying to rest and get mentally ready for the early birth. We will do what
we can to help out with Sam and Jonah so she can rest. After returning from
the hospital, we stayed for Friday homemade pizza night at the Goldstones
and it was decided that we will go ahead with the garden tilling on Sunday.
That shouldn’t take long really, so hopefully the remainder of Sunday can be
a day of rest for all of us.
My plan is to go pick up Sam and Jonah early in the morning and bring them
here to the boat for breakfast and to help with the removal of the caulk
from the teak deck. Both boys have shown an interest in helping and
hopefully having them here will give Heather and Jed both a few hours of
extra rest. And besides, Granddad could really use their help.
by Judy Handley | Mar 15, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 128, Year 7: Slow but Sure
Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012
Weather: Another Partly Sunny Day, Breezy and Cool
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Slowly, but surely, we are progressing on all counts.
Mark has his second chemo check-up with Dr. Crook today and he is doing
great. He is maintaining his weight, his blood counts are all still well
within the normal range, and except for a couple of low energy days during
each two week cycle, he is feeling good. His sensitivity to cold is
bothersome, but not a huge problem at this point. He is spending his
evening trying to learn more about understanding blood counts. We know
there are going to be changes in the coming weeks and Mark wants to
understand what all the numbers mean. It will certainly take more than one
evening to get a handle on this, but slowly we’ll understand.
Work on the teak deck is going VERY slowly, but it is going. Mark works
with his Fein Tool to remove the old caulk and Sam works with his little
fingers, and so far, I think Sam is winning. Jonah helps out a bit, too,
but he is just not as interested as Sam.
I continue to clean out food storage areas and am trying to find the best
way to store the types of foods we are eating these days. The biggest issue
is how to store the eight quarts of Magic Mineral Broth that I will be
making every two to three weeks. I’ve tried freezing it, but that is just
too inconvenient. I use it in the place of water in most recipes, so I need
easy access. And getting into the bottom of our freezer is not easy. So I
am going to try canning the next batch in pint jars and see how that works.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I am figuring things out.
We got thirty-six seedling pots planted last week, and I got spinach,
arugula, basil, and parley planted in pots that will stay on Windbird. Now
we just need to wait while those things sprout. While waiting, I need to
get some lavender seedlings started. Lavender grows so easily here and it
would be nice to have more of it in Heather’s yard for the bees. And
speaking of bees, the third coat of paint is on the hive, but it probably
needs one more coat to be finished. So slowly that job is getting done.
And back to gardening, Heather and Jed are gearing up for tilling the garden
this weekend and putting up new rabbit-proof fencing. Jed has a new garden
gate built and ready to install so that there will be a gate near the garden
shed on one end of the garden and a gate close to the house on the other
end. Preparations for spring are definitely underway at the Goldstone
“homestead”.
And slowly, Heather and I are getting over our nasty colds. Sam and Jonah
rebounded quickly, but it is taking longer for those of us over five years
of age. Thankfully, Jed and Mark were spared this time around. It would be
wonderful of all of us could stay healthy for the next month so that we will
all be well when the new little Goldstone arrives sometime around the tenth
of April. And slowly, but surely, that due date is drawing near.
by Judy Handley | Mar 14, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 127, Year 7: Back to Work
Date: Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Weather: Partly Sunny Day
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Mark went back to work at West Marine-uh (Jonah’s pronunciation, like
marina) today. He could tell by the level of activity that we are not the
only ones who think spring has sprung. In December when he was essentially
laid-off for the winter, there were very few customers. But today Mark said
it was a busy place. And a big sale starts tomorrow so I’m sure it will be
busier on Friday, his next work day. He is only scheduled to work a day or
two a week for now. If his energy level holds, he will be working more days
as summer draws near. But working fewer days for now is a good thing as we
also have to find time to do the work on the deck in the next few weeks. So
the lazy days of winter are gone.
After I took Mark to work this morning, I went to the grocery store to buy
quart canning jars. And then I came home and proceeded to fill them with
food for storage. After yesterday’s big shopping spree, I am rethinking the
food storage spaces on the boat. I am also changing from plastic to glass
storage containers, thus the quart canning jars. Using glass on a boat is
difficult, but Heather has convinced us that it is better for the world and
for our health. The morning went quickly and then it was back to town to
have a quick lunch with Mark and then on to Woods Hole to pick up Sam and
Jonah. I took them home instead of coming to the boat today since I had to
pick Mark up at West Marine at 5 pm. Heather was home when we got there.
She is slowly getting back to normal, or at least as normal as you can be
when you are less than a month from having a baby. Whatever this bug was
really threw her for a loop, and we are both so happy to see her feeling
better. And while on the topic of health, I’ll report that Mark continues
to be feeling great. He is not nearly as cold-sensitive during this second
week after a chemo treatment and he has been successful in keeping the mouth
sores away this time. He’s convinced that he will have no enamel left on
his teeth after the chemo treatments because he brushes his teeth multiple
times a day. But that, along with the vinegar and salt mouth wash, have
done the trick after the second treatment.
Tomorrow is a “work on the boat” day. I’ll be bringing the boys here in the
afternoon so they can help Mark remove the caulk from the teak deck. Mark
showed them how to do this yesterday and both of them were very enthusiastic
about coming back and helping Granddad.
by Judy Handley | Mar 13, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 126, Year 7: Shopping, Napping, Playing
Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Weather: Overcast, Sprinkles Here and There, Foggy Evening
Location: Brewer Fiddler?s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
The first half of my day was spent food shopping. Claire Wiklund took me on
an off-Cape food shopping excursion to a Whole Foods and a BJ’s. BJ’s is
like Sam?s Club or Costco and Whole Foods is where you can spend a whole lot
of money fast, but at least you can find some of the unusual ingredients
called for in the cancer-fighting cookbooks. I found the two things that I
really needed and those were kombu, a type of seaweed, and kudzu powder,
used to control nausea and stomach problems.? Mark is having no nausea and
only a slightly off-kilter stomach on some days, but I thought I should have
the powder just in case. The kombu packs all sorts of trace minerals and
has a type of polysaccharide which may inhibit cancer cells. It is an
essential ingredient in vegetable broth that we seem to be using a lot of in
soups and in cooking rice and quinoa. BJ’s had a few organic products that
I couldn’t find at Whole Foods and the prices there were certainly much more
affordable. So it was a very successful trip. Thank you, Claire.
I got home just in time to go pick up Sam and Jonah and bring them to the
boat for the afternoon. When we put the boys down for a nap, Mark and I
both took a little snooze, and then the fun began. I had bags and bags of
groceries to put away, but that will happen tomorrow morning. This
afternoon Sam and Jonah had different plans. We worked together to build
hide-outs in the cockpit using pillows and blankets. And Sam spent some
time learning how to dig the old caulk out of the grooves in the teak deck.
He was quite good at it and Mark hopes he’ll come back on Thursday to help
him continue the work. Mark works at West Marine tomorrow, so I will
probably take the boys to their house for the afternoon. Heather called
late this afternoon and invited us over for dinner, so the pillows and
blankets are still in the cockpit and the bags of groceries are still
sitting all over the main cabin. Tomorrow . . .
by Judy Handley | Mar 12, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 125, Year 7: Signs of Spring
Date: Monday, March 12, 2012
Weather: Sunny, High Temp in the 50’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Finally, the daffodils that have been bursting at the seams since late
January started to bloom today. There were two boats out in the Vineyard
Sound-first ones we’ve seen out there since December. And the little market
close to us had their fresh fruit and veggie cart out on the lawn full of
produce. Add to that the sunshine and the mild temperatures and you’ve
definitely got signs of spring. We went for a long walk this morning and
that’s when we saw the produce cart outside the local market. Then we went
to Woods Hole to pick up Sam and Jonah and it was on the way there that we
saw the first daffodils in bloom on a hillside just before Woods Hole. When
we got back to Heather and Jed’s we found that the daffodils on the southern
side of their house are in bloom as well. On the way home from Woods Hole,
both boys really wanted to take the road along the ocean, so we caved and
did it. Mark and I love that drive and today we saw a couple of small
recreational boats out in the Sound. Then after nap, Sam and Jonah, along
with the neighbor children, Molly and Joey, helped me transplant some greens
that survived the winter from the garden into pots. Heather and Jed are
going in with neighbors to rent a roto-tiller on the weekend to till the
garden, and I wanted to save some of the plants. Then I played football
with Sam while the other kids played on the swing set. So I’d say March 12
was the first day of spring here.
Mark is feeling great, my cold is getting better, and Heather is very slowly
getting better. She had an appointment with her doctor today and was
reassured that the baby is fine even though she has been severely dehydrated
over the past couple of days. She is on the road to recovery, but the
doctor says she really needs to take it easy for another couple of days.
Luckily she has no deadlines this week and can afford to take time to heal.
I’m going shopping with Claire Wiklund in the morning and will then bring
the boys to the boat for the afternoon. That will give Heather an extra
chance to rest and the boys will get to water all those seedling pots they
planted on Friday. I watered them today, but as hot as it gets on deck on
sunny days, they will need it again tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Mar 11, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 124, Year 7: Spring Forward
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2012
Weather: Sunny and Windy, High Temp in the Upper 40’sr
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Here we all are, propelled one hour ahead in time to Daylight Savings Time.
I love this ‘spring forward’ as it adds an additional hour of sunshine to
the end of each day. I was still out on deck mixing potting soil at 6:30
this evening just to show my appreciation for the extra hour.
After cutting Mark’s hair this morning, we took a ride over to Heather and
Jed’s. Heather had called earlier in the morning to tell us that she felt
like she might be on the road to recovery. She still hadn’t eaten much, but
her stomach was feeling a little more settled. I wanted to take her some of
the left-over Quinoa Pilaf I made for dinner last night. Since fennel is
supposed to be soothing to the stomach, I thought it might be good for
Heather. Sam and Jonah were just sitting down to lunch when we arrived, so
Mark and I took a long walk around the neighborhood while they ate and then
returned to walk around the block with the boys before their afternoon naps.
While in town, we got our empty propane tank filled, did some grocery
shopping, and bought a few more supplies for my on-deck garden.
I spent a good deal of the evening reading through “The Cancer-Fighting
Kitchen” writing down all of the recipe ingredients that I don’t have and
can’t get easily here in Falmouth. Since Claire and I are going on a hunt
for some of these items on Tuesday, I wanted to get my list in order. I was
amazed at how many recipes call for parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Every time I read this list of herbs, I was transported back to 1968 to the
soundtrack from The Graduate. Scarborough Fair was the first song on Simon
& Garfunkel’s 1966 album named after the herbs, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary,
and Thyme.” This modern song was based on a 16th century English folk song
and was subsequently included in the soundtrack for the 1968 movie. In an
1889 version of the folk song, the place name was different, Whittingham
instead of Scarborough Fair, but the herbs remained constant through the
years. Why these four spices were included in the English folk song is
anyone’s best guess. There are all sorts of explanations based on the
healing qualities of the herbs, but my favorite is that they were included
because they are the basic ingredients in stuffing. What I am finding,
however, is that these same herbs really do have wonderful healing qualities
and are listed as cancer-fighting ingredients in many different books. As I
am cooking some of these recipes, I often think of our sailing friends, Ed
and Lynne of Constance. They were believers in GGO-garlic, ginger, and
onion. No matter what they were fixing, these were the first three
ingredients. And they, too, are listed over and over as cancer-fighting.
So now we have GGO-PSR&T. And one more food note. I had another culinary
flop today. Yesterday it was the carrot cake that is just too moist and
today it was rye bread that looks and feels like a brick door stop. I think
for the rest of the week I will only bake tried and true recipes.
Mark is dealing with a new kind of low today and he can’t quite pin down the
cause. He feels fine but just doesn’t have much energy. The good news is
that the cold sensitivity seems to be gone for this chemo cycle and the
vinegar and warm water gargle solution seems to be keeping the mouth sores
at bay for now. Mark starts working at West Marine this Wednesday, and
again on Friday, so hopefully he will have the energy for that.
