by Judy Handley | Apr 6, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 168, Year 9: Fencing in the ‘Dirt’
Date: Sunday, April 6, 2014
Weather: Beautiful, Clear and Windy Day; High Temp Upper 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
These days our weekend mornings are slow and easy. We sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and then figure out what we are going to do for the day. Today we headed back to Heather and Jed’s to see if we could be of help in setting up the garden for this year. Jed had already tilled the entire garden by the time we arrived, so we helped by watching the kids and distributing more of the compost that was delivered yesterday to various areas of the yard. While we did this, Heather and Jed spent their time fencing in the ‘dirt’ (compost) that we put in the garden yesterday and that was tilled in this morning. They put up new 5 foot high fencing on two sides of the garden to accommodate the climbing plants like peas and started reattaching the shorter fencing on the other two sides. There’s more to be done, but Heather and Jed put in a good weekend of work and enough is done that planting of peas can be done early this week.
by Judy Handley | Apr 5, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 167, Year 9: Dirt Day
Date: Saturday, April 5, 2014
Weather: Partly Sunny, High Temp Upper 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
A truckload of compost for Heather and Jed’s garden arrived this morning and the rest of the morning and afternoon became ‘dirt day’ at the Goldstones. The compost was dumped at the bottom of the drive-way and then had to be carted to the garden. Sam, Jonah, Ollie, and next door neighbors Mollie and Joey all got in on the action and there was compost or ‘dirt’ everywhere. Mark and I went over around noon to help with the carting and at one point I went into the house to get something and found Jonah and Mollie inside with the traces of their movement very evident. They had taken off their shoes at the door, but their feet were covered in dirt that got spread throughout the house. Too bad the floors were swept and mopped yesterday. That will certainly need to be done again!
In the late afternoon, Heather, Jed and boys went to hear the Cape Cod Children’s Choir and Mark and I returned home and had a quiet evening watching a movie. Tomorrow we will go back to Heather and Jed’s to help till in the compost and put up new garden fencing. It is supposed to be a sunny day and it will feel great to be outside working. I feel like we have been hostage to this wintry weather way too long.
by Judy Handley | Apr 4, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 166, Year 9: Happy 7th Anniversary to Justin and Jo
Date: Friday, April 4, 2014
Weather: Overcast and Breezy, High Temp Upper 40’s F (felt colder)
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Seven years ago today Justin and Jo were married. Mark and I were in New Zealand at the time and didn’t actually find out that they were married until after the event. Because of the time difference, we thought for a full year that they were married on April 5th. But the big day was on Wednesday, April 4. This is a big weekend for them with their anniversary today and Ziggy’s birthday on Monday. So Happy Anniversary to Justin and Jo. We’ll wait until Monday to send happy birthday wishes to Ziggy.
We arrived at Heather and Jed’s this morning to find everyone outside. Jonah and Ollie were riding stick horses and pretending to be cowboys. There was a tad of sun and the promise of a warmer day. But the sun quickly disappeared and the wind made the day feel colder than it was was. So no hint of spring today. Maybe tomorrow. When we returned to Fiddler’s Cove this evening we did get to see the whole family of bufflehead ducks that live here in the winter. Normally we just see a couple at a time. Not sure why we were honored with seeing the whole group this evening, but it is always a pleasure
by Judy Handley | Apr 3, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 165, Year 9: A ‘Normal’ Day
Date: Thursday, April 3, 2014
Weather: Clear Blue Skies with Temp in the Upper 40’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Hey, hey. It really was a ‘normal’ day. Mark and I had fun with Ollie, including a walk to the bogs to look for ducks and swans. What was not normal was that there were absolutely no birds on the bog—not one. Heather told us this evening that the osprey have returned. Four have been reported in the area of the bogs, and she was wondering if this sends the other birds into hiding. For whatever reason, we saw no birds which is very unusual. The rest of the day was uneventful. Ollie really enjoyed playing with Granddad once again, and since the weather was so nice, they spent a great deal of the day outside. I cooked and did laundry all day in between play times with Ollie. At the end of the day, Mark and I returned to a very warm Windbird. With today’s sunshine and lack of wind, the inside temperature was 80 degrees F when we got home. Tomorrow we’ll shut off the heaters for the day.
by Judy Handley | Apr 2, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 164, Year 9: Ringing the Bell
Date: Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Weather: Partly Cloudy Day, Temp in the Upper 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
For sure, the highlight of today was Mark ringing the bell. At Mass General, as well as at many other cancer treatment centers across the country, the tradition is for the patient to ring the bell to signify the end of treatment—in this case, radiation treatment. Everyone in the waiting rooms clap and cheer when they hear the bell and well wishes are given. Mark came through the six weeks in good health. He looks great and feels good and is so happy to be home. He won’t know the results until Friday, May 5th, so my plan is to keep him busy working on the boat until then so he doesn’t have time to think. There never seems to be a problem finding things to keep oneself busy around here, so I’m sure Cinco de Mayo will be here before we know it. Thanks to all of you who have sent your congratulations on the end of treatment and the well wishes for a positive outcome. Your positive thoughts are certainly appreciated.
I’m so glad I was able to go to Boston last night. It was nice to meet some of the people Mark has gotten to know at the Hope House. The American Cancer Society has these cost-free temporary residences for patients in cancer treatment all around the country. The password for getting on the internet last night was “relayforlife” so I am assuming that the money raised in these relays goes to support the Hope Houses. Mark’s sister and all of her family in Florida are active Relay for Lifers and I’m thinking we are going to have to get a New England group going. How lucky and thankful we are that Mark was able to stay in the AstraZeneca Hope House for more than half of his treatment time. Thank you, thank you, American Cancer Society.
We spent the early morning today washing bed linens and towels and cleaning the suite. This is a requirement for all who stay there. Mark had a bit of double duty as the old duvet, sham covers, and blankets had to be washed, dried, and folded and put in a bag that will be donated. He then had to wash the brand new covers and blankets and leave these folded neatly for the next resident. The ‘old’ covers looked great to me, but evidently they replace everything on a set schedule. So we did our part to get the room ready for the next occupant and then we went to Mass General for the treatment and the ringing of the bell. We had lunch in the hospital Eat Well Café and then headed to Cambridge to do a bit of food shopping and to stop by Sue and John Reed’s home. This is where Mark stayed for the first two and half weeks before the Hope House was available and we just wanted to say hello. Sue and John have opened their home to us on numerous occasions and we are so appreciative of their warm hospitality. Unfortunately Sue was not at home this afternoon, but we had tea with John and a family friend from DC that is a house guest this week. Then it was back to the Cape, but not before one more stop at Costco to buy more goodies. We also went to Home Depot to look for garden fencing for Heather and Jed, but they didn’t have what we are looking for. So that search will continue.
Tomorrow life will be back to normal. When I say that, Mark always adds, “Whatever that is.”
by Judy Handley | Apr 1, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 163, Year 9: New Month . . . A Little Sunshine
Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Weather: Cloudy Morning, Sunny Afternoon, Breezy
Location: AstraZeneca Hope House, Jamaica Plain in Boston, MA
I’m sitting here with Mark in his lovely suite at the AstraZeneca Hope House in Boston. I arrived here around 7 pm and we had a lovely dinner together downstairs in the kitchen-dining room area. Tomorrow morning we will work together to get things in order so he can check out and GO HOME!!!! The accommodations here are fantastic, but there is no place like home. Mark is anxious to get back to Windbird and resume life as usual. So after checking out we’ll head to Mass General to celebrate his last radiation treatment and then slowly make our way back to Windbird. I say slowly as we have a few shopping stops along the way, but we’ll be home in time for dinner.
Ollie had his annual wellness check-up today and he is doing great. Back in October he had a check-up that revealed that he had just not been growing for the previous six months. He had been sick most of the winter with one ear infection after another. But today we learned what we already knew. He has made steady gains in both height and weight since October and he’s been much healthier since he has not been in daycare. He’s not a big two year-old, but he is a healthy and happy one. So that was good news and the weather today was also good news as it was a great improvement over the past few days. It was still quite breezy, but after some morning clouds, we had a lovely, sunny afternoon–still breezy. So a new month brought us a little sunshine. No April Fool’s joke. It looks like we should have “spring-like” weather through the ten-day forecast period. Daytime temps should be in the upper 40’s and nighttime temps above freezing. So maybe spring has actually arrived. I’m sure hoping.
