by Judy Handley | Dec 18, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 40, Year 7: First Snow
Date: Sunday, December 18, 2011
Weather: Chilly Overnight with Snow Flurries, High Temp 30’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
There was no accumulation, but we did get snow flurries overnight and periodically during the day. It was enough to convince our four year-old grandson Sam that he should get himself dressed with no help, get his coat on, and get outside first thing this morning. Jonah had a different reaction. He got himself dressed, well, really undressed, and added back a hat, mittens, and soccer ankle shields-no shirt, no pants, no socks, no shoes. Unlike Sam, he was not the least bit interested in going outside. He just wanted to run around the house with no clothes on. I guess there is more than one way to celebrate the first snow of the year!
Mark worked at West Marine today and I worked on getting us packed for our trip to New Mexico. This includes getting all the presents that will be going to Maine with Heather and Jed ready to go with them and it includes doing a little holiday baking to give to friends here before we leave. For thirty-some years, I have baked cranberry bread using a recipe from the Deaf Smith Cookbook. It has the consistency of a fruit cake but tastes much better in my opinion. Baking today was like a walk down memory lane. It was an international experience. I used the last of my coarsely ground whole wheat flour from Australia that adds a nutty texture to whatever you are baking. I add multi-grain flour from South Africa. The powdered milk was from Madagascar, the baking powder from Thailand, the salt from India. Each ingredient conjured up visions of experiences we had in each country. But the cranberries were absolutely local. I went to the West Falmouth Market to buy cranberries this afternoon and I couldn’t find them in the produce section. Admittedly, this is a small market, but I was surprised that they didn’t have them. The market seems to have a little of everything, including balsam fir Christmas trees that smell so good you just want to hug one. But back to the cranberries . . . I asked if they had any and the young woman took me to a well-worn wooden crate filled with local cranberries. They were so fresh they didn’t need to be refrigerated. So I was definitely able to add authentic Cape Cod, USA to my international cranberry bread.
Tomorrow I will go with Mark for his appointment with the surgeon at Mass General. I had planned on staying here to take care of Sam and Jonah in the afternoon, but both Heather and Jed assured me that they will be fine without childcare. They knew I would want to be with Mark when he gets the report from the doctor. But I must say that I don’t think I have ever dreaded anything so much in my life. I do want to be there, and hope against hope the news will be on the positive end. Tonight we are doing a Colon Cancer 101 crash course to figure out the various stages and what they mean so we can know what questions to ask once we are confronted with the results of the recent tests. I’ve always been a good student, but this is one course I could live without.
by Judy Handley | Dec 17, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 39, Year 7: Welcome Yule
Date: Saturday, December 17, 2011
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Still Windy, Temps in the 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
What a wonderful day. We drove to Boston with Heather, Jed, Sam, and Jonah to attend The Christmas Revels. The performance takes place at the Sanders Theatre on the Harvard campus in Cambridge. The theatre looks more like a cathedral, the design coming from Christopher Wren’s Sheldonian Theatre built in Oxford, England in the 1600’s. The stained glass windows and beautiful wood interior always make a visit there a delight, and the presentation of Revels is perfect in this setting. Revels is a presentation of song, dance, and drama, different every year, but always celebrating the cycles of the seasons of the year at the time of winter solstice. We attended the matinee performance and it took us back to the 16th century in a small French fishing village. Pilgrims from all over Europe and the East wandered through the village as they were presenting their annual presentation of a play about The Three Kings. The Sharq Ensemble, whose goals is to present authentic Arab music using traditional instruments, was woven into this year’s story and it added a delightful flavor. We were so inspired that we decided to go to an Afghan restaurant for dinner afterwards. But back to Revels, I must say that it is a wonderful way to welcome the holidays as a community. Everyone sings and one point, everyone in the theatre dances by holding hands and winding through the aisles and down the stairs to the lobby for intermission. This is called The Lord of the Dance and it is so much fun. In the second half of the show the audience joins in to sing Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace) which is quite moving and during the presentation of a poem called The Shortest Day, the audience tries to shake the huge chandelier hanging above by shouting, “Welcome Yule.” Sam and Jonah were fantastic. It was almost as much fun to watch them as they reacted to the presentation as it was to watch to watch the actual presentation. And even after sitting in the van for an hour an half to get to Boston, and then sitting through two hours of Revels, they both made it through dinner in a crowded, upscale restaurant without a complaint. Well, Sam got a bit antsy in the first part of Revels, but after intermission he got into the story. So I would say that both Sam and Jonah gave a phenomenal performance this afternoon and evening. Since we will not be with them for Christmas this year, today was certainly a wonderful holiday gift to all of us.
In keeping with the holiday spirit, we are expecting one to three inches of snow tonight. Just yesterday it was so warm, but the temperature has slowly been dropping. We had hoped it would be snowing as we left the theatre, but that little bit of magic didn’t happen. But some snow in the morning (that melts by afternoon) would be perfect.
by Judy Handley | Dec 16, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 38, Year 7: Frustrations
Date: Friday, December 16, 2011
Weather: Sunny Day, Very Windy, Temps in the 50’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
The weather today was glorious. It was a bit windy, but the sun was shining and it was springtime warm. I brought Sam and Jonah to the boat for a short visit this afternoon before heading home for naps. Sam has been very anxious to see the boat under cover, and once here, both boys had to fashion fishing poles out of sticks and go fishing for strippers and bluefin tuna. Mark worked at West Marine and after work we headed back to Windbird to assess just how much we have to do to be ready to leave here early on Tuesday morning for our trip to New Mexico. Tomorrow we go to Boston with HJJ&S to attend Revels. It is going to be colder tomorrow and the weather report actually predicts snow flurries. I doubt that it really happens, but if it did, it would certainly help to promote holiday cheer.
The frustrations with change come from trying to use my new computer. We were trying to avoid buying Microsoft Office by using a free download called Open Office. Heather recommended it as she used it for months and found it very satisfactory. But after Mark went to bed last night, I wrote my log on the new computer and then copied it to a hard drive to transfer it to Mark’s computer to send. We do this all time and never have a problem, but in Windows 7 using Open Office, it didn’t work. I tried everything with no luck and finally gave up and went to bed. This morning Mark tried everything he knows, and it still didn’t work. So he got frustrated and caved in and bought Microsoft Office 2010 online. It is certainly not like Microsoft Office 2003 that I am used to using, and I have spent the entire evening being very frustrated with the changes. Change is hard, but I keep asking myself why something so simple to use has become very difficult-too many fancy options. We can customize and we will, but tonight was just total frustration for me.
I also had a frustrating contact with Greyhound today. We bought our tickets ages ago to get a cheaper price, had those tickets cancelled for some unknown reason, and then had them reinstated with the caveat that we would call on December 16 to get a confirmation number that we will use to pick up the actual tickets on Tuesday just before departure. I called today and was told that I need to call back on Monday even though the person I was talking to was reading on his computer that I was told to call today. We still have no confirmation number and I am just hoping against hope that when I call on Monday, all will be okay. It sounds like a crazy process to me, but what I was told today is that when I call on Monday, the representative I talk to will email the Boston station. Then someone from the Boston station will call us with a confirmation number. The whole process is just too complicated. It was much easier to arrange for bus travel in India than here in the US. And we didn’t even speak the same language. Something about this is just wrong.
On Sunday, Mark works at West Marine and I will spend the day finalizing the packing for our bus trip to New Mexico. On Monday Mark heads to Boston to meet with his surgeon at Mass General while I spend my last afternoon with Sam and Jonah before we leave on Tuesday. We will have a little pre-Christmas dinner at Heather and Jed’s on Monday evening and then we are off and running on Tuesday morning. If all goes as planned, I should be able to send logs while we are traveling. It will be fun to be able to share with you our experiences as we travel westward on a Greyhound bus.
by Judy Handley | Dec 15, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 37, Year 7: Steps in the Process
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2011
Weather: Overcast with Rain in the Evening; Temp in mid-50’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark went to Hyannis today to have a CT scan. This was the next step in the process. He left the medical office with CD in hand, but the written results will be faxed directly to his doctor at Mass General Hospital. He picked up other medical records today that he will hand carry to his appointment on Monday, so he is all set to meet with the surgeon on Monday.
At the same time that all of the medical preparations are happening, we are getting ourselves ready for the trip to New Mexico. We just printed out the bus schedule which looks absolutely grueling, but we’ll make it work. We have our first transfer in Cleveland, Ohio in the middle of the first night, another transfer in in Dayton, Ohio at 9 am in the morning and then another transfer in St. Louis at 4:30 pm. Then at least we have a straight run all the way to Albuquerque?straight run meaning that we don’t need to transfer, but there are many stops from Ohio to Texas and then on to New Mexico. I really think this is going to be like doing a passage. Three hours of sleep, three hours on watch. I should be able send logs since I have a new computer with a battery that lasts longer than 5 minutes. There might actually be electric plug-ins on the bus, and we will have wi-fi through Mark’s phone. So I’ll be able to keep you entertained on what it is like to ride a Greyhound bus cross country.
I think I have the Christmas end of the process under control. Presents have been sent to Maine for Heather, Jed, Sam, and Jonah and sent to New Mexico for Justin, Jo, and Ziggy. I have packed a huge bag that we will take with us full of things from storage for Justin and Jo, so now all we need to do is pack clothes for ourselves. We have to remember that it is really winter in New Mexico, so our wardrobe is going to have to change to reflect that fact. Since we will be leaving the boat, I’m hoping that these warmer than usual temperatures will continue until we return. With all of the health-related issues this week, I forgot to mention that that reverse-cycle heater/air conditioner that we just had repaired (to the tune of $250) bit the dust two nights ago. We awoke to the smell of smoldering electrical wires and caught the problem before there was a fire. With everything else going on, we have just simply disconnected the heater and will deal with it later. Thankfully, I had ordered another oil-encased radiator-type heater that was delivered on Monday. So we are using two of these DeLonghi heaters and it is 75 degrees inside. We keep turning them down, but it is just so warm outside and now that we are covered, it is 60 degrees in the cockpit. So it doesn’t take much to heat the boat. That will change drastically when the temp drops, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen soon. The ten-day forecast shows daytime temperatures in the 40’s, so it looks like we won’t get a deep freeze here until after Christmas, and maybe even not then. Since we are going to be away, that would keep us from worrying about Windbird. But even if there the weather takes a huge dip, I think she should be fine.
Tomorrow is just another regular day, and then on Saturday we go with Heather, Jed, and kids to Boston for Revels. Revels is presentation of dance and music to celebrate the winter solstice. It is a wonderful way to start the holiday season. We have been before with Sam, but not with Jonah. I know he is going to love the music as much as Sam, so it should be a great afternoon and a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday season with the Goldstone clan since we will be away during Christmas.
by Judy Handley | Dec 14, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 36, Year 7: The Ugly Truth
Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Weather: Overcast with Drizzle Early; Temp in Upper 40’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark got the results of his colon tumor biopsy today and the results were as we had been told to expect. The ugly truth is that the tumor is cancerous. Mark was expecting this, so it was not a surprise. Yet we had hoped against hope that the result would be different. But Mark is definitely a man at peace with himself and the world and he is upbeat and ready for the upcoming battle. Last night there was a flurry of emails between our friend Dick Wiklund and his friend who is the head of surgery at Mass General. By this morning, it was decided that Dr. Patricia Sylla at Mass General in Boston will be Mark’s surgeon. Dick’s friend is taking a couple of weeks of vacation and he felt that we would be better off with a surgeon who can deal with things sooner rather than later. Dr. Sylla’s credentials look incredible, and Mark will meet with her on Monday. Tomorrow he has a CT scan here on the Cape. He will then hand-deliver all of his records to Dr. Sylla on Monday. We suppose she could say on Monday that the surgery needs to happen immediately, but after talking with her office assistant today, that is most unlikely. The office assistant said things just don’t happen that fast, and that having the surgery in the first or second week of the new year is the likely scenario. So we are going ahead with our plans to head to New Mexico on Tuesday of next week. But flexibility is the name of the game. We are prepared to change plans at any point to do what is recommended.
Again, we want to thank those of you who have sent well wishes. It is so uplifting to get emails of support from friends. So thank you so much.
by Judy Handley | Dec 13, 2011 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 35, Year 7: Moving Forward
Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny, Blue Sky Day; High Temp 44 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
The first good news is that Mark made a miraculous recovery during the night. Taking the antibiotic and Tylenol made him a new man in just a couple of hours. His temp came down from 102.5 to 101 very quickly and by this morning, his temp was normal. He decided to go ahead with the tooth extraction this morning and he had no ill effects from that. In fact, he felt great all day. So all is well on that front.
Late in the day today, after doing a bit of research, we think we have decided that having Mark’s surgery here on the Cape is not what we will do. It would be convenient, but the expertise is in Boston, and it is expertise, not comfort, that we are after. Our friend, Dick Wiklund, who is the retired Medical Director of OR at Mass General, has made a referral to a good friend at Mass General who Dick says is a genius in the realm of laser surgery. The good friend is the chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal and General Surgery, and based on Dick’s recommendation, he sounds like the doctor we are seeking. He will be on vacation for a couple of weeks over the holidays, but if there is any chance he could see Mark this week and then set a surgery date after he returns from vacation, it would give us the chance to go ahead and make our trip to New Mexico. We will have to continue to follow-up on this tomorrow and hope we can make it all work.
We want to thank all of you who sent messages to Mark today. It means so much to know that family and friends are there to support you in a time of need. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
