by Judy Handley | Jan 18, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 90, Year 9: Rainy Saturday
Date: Saturday, January 18, 2014
Weather: Overcast with Lots of Rain; High 40 degrees F, Low in the mid-30’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
The weather this winter is certainly on the ‘interesting’ side. Today was another dreary, rainy day. I’ve often heard our daughter Heather say that she would much rather have snow than rain, and I’m starting to come down on her side. Snow means colder temps, but after the initial snow fall, it is usually clear and sunny. So it’s either warm with rain and no sun or cold with snow and sunshine. Sailing in the tropics for five cruising seasons spoiled us rotten and now we are reacting like bratty children clamoring for better weather. Our little jaunt to Puerto Rico in mid-February can’t come too soon!
Mark spent his day on the boat resting and reading. His Nexus tablet is his best friend. He reads the news, reads books, sends and receives his email, and does his internet searching all on that tablet and it seems that he can stare at it for hours on end with great delight. I’m definitely hooked into my computer, but I have an old-fashioned cell phone (definitely not smart) and no tablet. I read ‘real’ books and don’t send text messages (although I can receive them). So late morning, I left Mark and his tablet and headed into town to do some food shopping and to go to Walmart to buy Patriots t-shirts for Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. Too late! The only sizes left were much too large for any of the boys, so Heather has come up with a way to make shirts for them for tomorrow’s game. Both Sam and Jonah are hyped for the Patriots versus the Broncos showdown tomorrow. They have no idea what the Super Bowl is, but they know if the Patriots win tomorrow, they go on to another level of glory. If the Patriots win, I’ll have to find shirts for the boys for the Super Bowl. We have many trips to Boston in the next week or so, and surely I can find shirts to fit them somewhere between here and Boston. But first the Patriots have to win tomorrow and that looks to be a formidable challenge. For a team whom I didn’t even knew existed in the late 1990’s when I lived in New Hampshire, I have since become a fan. We don’t have a way to watch the game, but I’ll be with the Patriots in spirit.
by Judy Handley | Jan 17, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 89, Year 9: This is the way . . .
Date: Friday, January 17, 2014
Weather: A Bit Cooler with High and Low in the 30’s; Partly Sunny
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
On Friday, I have started taking Ollie to the library for Tots ’n Tales, a story and music hour for toddlers. Today there were 19 little ones in attendance. One of the books was based on the children’s song “This is the Way We Go to School.” So for the rest of the day, Ollie and I sang about what we were doing. “This is the way we eat our lunch.” “This is the way we go to nap.” “This is the way we scrub the floor.” And on and on. On Fridays, I try to mop the floors and this afternoon Ollie wanted to help. But other than singing our way through the day, there is nothing extraordinary to report EXCEPT that I am getting a cold. Both Mark and I have been fighting sinus issues all fall and winter and we were both just getting better. Then this evening I got hit with what feels like an old-fashioned cold. All three boys are healthy right now, so I’ll probably spend this three-day weekend in isolation so I don’t pass this along to them. What a bummer.
by Judy Handley | Jan 16, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 88, Year 9: Thursday ‘Marathon Day’ at H & J’s
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2014
Weather: Daytime High Still in the 40’s F, No Sunshine Today
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
I joke about Thursdays being ‘marathon days’ at Heather and Jed’s as we arrive early and leave late. Heather now goes to Boston on Thursdays, instead of Tuesdays as was the case in the fall and early winter. This means she doesn’t get home until 7:30 pm or later, but starting with the New Year, she also has bee keeping class on Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9:00 pm and then she has to drive home from that. So I fix dinner on Thursday evenings for us and for Jed and the boys and then Mark and I stay to help with Ollie until the big boys are ready for bed. It’s a long day for Ollie without momma, so having the extra attention helps. I fixed the same dinner tonight that I usually fix—salmon cakes, broccoli, and potatoes. I fix that because all three boys will eat the salmon cakes. At different times over the past few years, broccoli has also been a favorite but Sam and Jonah stopped eating it last winter and not until tonight have we been able to get them to eat it again. And did they ever eat. Each of them ate ten broccoli ‘tree’ tops and Ollie ate three. After school, Sam, Ollie, and I stopped at the corner store and I let Sam choose the kind of frozen potatoes that we would have for dinner. He chose Steak Fries and they were also a hit. So it was successful evening for vegetables!
by Judy Handley | Jan 15, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 87, Year 9: Low-key, Fun Day
Date: Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Weather: Daytime High Still in the 40’s F—Sunshine Makes It Feel Like Spring
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Oh, the weather outside today was delightful. Everything froze overnight but as soon as the sun hit this morning, there was an instant thaw. This meant it was very slick for walking early on, but by 8:30 am, the ice was gone and the rest of the sunny day was more like spring than winter. I managed to get out of the boat without waking Mark this morning and went to Heather’s to help out with her Wednesday projects. Today’s project was to relax, so we started out by going for a walk to check out why there were two fire engines at the corner store. With Jonah’s love of firemen and fire engines, those flashing lights couldn’t be ignored. Our investigation found that the store was just fine. A customer had decided to sit in her car to smoke a cigarette and somehow her car caught on fire. I think she was okay but the car was a total loss. After talking to the firemen, we then walked to the cranberry bogs to see the birds and throw rocks into the water. The bogs are flooded right now and Jonah and Ollie love nothing more than throwing rocks into water. And I love nothing more than watching them while watching birds at the same time. There were the usual swans, geese, ducks, and sea gulls, but I always find them fascinating to watch. By the time we got back to Heather and Jed’s, it was time for a snack and for Ollie to do down for his nap. At this point, I exited with Jonah and headed back to Windbird to fix lunch. When we arrived at Fiddler’s Cove, the dredger that has been at work deepening the entry channel was at work, so Jonah and I headed down the boardwalk to get a closer look. There is a private beach by the entry channel that is not accessible during the summer months, but the homes along the beach are empty during the winter and we took advantage of that fact to enjoy the beach and get a bird’s eye view of the dredging process. When we finally reached Windbird, we found that it was extremely warm inside the plastic cover. Jonah loved that he didn’t need a coat on to play on the deck, but without anyone to play with he quickly came inside to build a fort on the aft cabin bed. After lunch, we headed to the nearby bike path so he could ride and we could walk. Mark was feeling much better today than yesterday and really enjoyed getting outside. After our bike ride/walk, we headed back to Heather and Jed’s and the outdoor fun continued. We played baseball and soccer until the sun went down and the temperature dropped. It was then time to head inside. Before heading back to Windbird, Mark and I grilled a couple of dozen oysters that his work colleague at West Marine, Sue, gave to him yesterday. I’m not an oyster lover, or at least I wasn’t until tonight. Grilled oysters are delicious. You put them on the grill for a minute or so until they start to open. You then take the tops off and put a little spiced butter sauce on each one before returning them to the grill for a couple of minutes. Delicious!
Tomorrow is a marathon day—starts early and ends late. Heather goes to Boston and when she returns she goes to bee keeping class. So Mark and I will spend our day with Ollie and then stay on to fix dinner and help Jed get the boys ready for bed. So goes the week.
by Judy Handley | Jan 14, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 86, Year 9: Last Chemo Treatment for This Round
Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Weather: Overcast with Rain, Temp in the 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Talking about the ‘last chemo treatment for this round’ sounds a bit like a boxing match and I guess it is actually like that with the chemicals battling cancer. And just as in a boxing match, you are always hoping for a knockout. After Mark’s surgery to remove the cancerous tumor from his colon in January of 2012, he had twelve chemo treatments that we think of as Round 1. We didn’t get a knockout, so today he completed Round 2 of six treatments which will be followed by surgery and then Round 3 of six more treatments. And this time we are hoping for the Big KO. The drugs in the infusions he has received in Round 2 are different from the ones in Round 1 and he reacts differently. During Round 1 he always felt fine on the day of the infusion and on the two days following when he was wearing a portable infusion pack. Once that was removed, he crashed and spent about four days feeling really lousy. This time around, he crashes on the day of the infusion and has almost no energy for the next few days. But after a week, he revives and feels great. The crashes have gotten progressively worse over the six treatment cycles, but other than being totally zapped of energy, he has had few other side effects. He has lost a bit hair on his chin so he has a new type of beard, his stomach is a bit upset for the first 24 hours after the infusion, and his mouth gets a bit sore for a few days. But it could have been a lot worse. So we are thankful that Round 2 is almost over and that he was spared more devastating side effects.
Mark took me to Heather and Jed’s this morning and he went on the oncology center. Ollie and I played outside for the morning until the rain started. Forty degrees feels mighty warm after the cold temps we have had recently, so we really enjoyed our morning outside with Ollie riding his little trike, digging in the dirt, and listening to the birds. It sounded like spring, but I know that is just a deception. We have lots of winter still to go. About the time Ollie went down for a nap, Mark came back from getting his last infusion, and then Heather came home early to pick up Sam as it was an early release day at school. Heather had a 5:30 meeting and a bee keeping class tonight, so Mark and I stayed to help Jed with the boys through dinner and bath time. Then we abandoned him with three little energetic boys and came home so Mark could rest. Things are never dull around here. It seems that we find lots of ways to keep busy!
My sister Patsy was released from the hospital today and is at home and feeling great. She has eaten almost nothing since last Monday evening but whatever they gave her in those IV’s kept her energy level even and she didn’t lose any weight. We are just so very thankful that things resolved themselves and that she is fine. So one is home from the hospital and another goes in. Our friend Steve Macek has surgery at Mass General tomorrow for his colorectal cancer. Mark’s surgeon, Dr. Sylla, is doing the operation, so we feel like Steve is in good hands. We just hope his recovery is as swift as Mark’s was after his operation. Good luck, Steve!
by Judy Handley | Jan 13, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 85, Year 9: Monday, Monday
Date: Monday, January 13, 2014
Weather: Partly Sunny; Warmer Than Expected Temps, 40’s F Day and Night
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
The great news of today is that my sister Patsy learned that she will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Her bowel blockage is totally cleared and she is on the road to recovery.
Thanks and praises.
Mark and I went over to Heather and Jed’s to watch Ollie while Jed took Jonah to Hyannis to test drive the car we hope to buy. Our job was easy as Ollie slept the whole time, but at least he got a good nap without having to sleep in the car while traveling.
Tomorrow is Mark’s last chemo infusion day in this six-week cycle. He feels so good right now but knows that he will have another week of zapped energy coming up. But then he will have a break for a few weeks prior to his surgery. We’re starting to plan for our trip to Culebra and are so looking forward to snorkeling in warm water.
