by Judy Handley | Jan 12, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 84, Year 9: Fort Taber and The New Bedford Whaling Museum
Date: Sunday, January 12, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny with Moderate Temps, 40’s F Day, 30’s F Night
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today we revisited The New Bedford Whaling Museum as well as Fort Taber which is along the waterfront. In order to do this we had to drive north off the Cape and then head west toward Rhode Island. New Bedford is on the other side of Buzzard’s Bay and was once one of the most important fishing and whaling ports in the world. In the 1800’s, Nantucket and New London, Connecticut were New Bedford’s only rivals. Today New Bedford is still the home to a huge fishing fleet but its days of glory are long past. Fort Taber, also known as The Old Stone Fort, is from the Civil War era. The granite stone used to construct this fort came from Maine. It was windy, but the weather was warm enough that Sam and Jonah could run and explore the fort before we headed indoors to tour the whaling museum. Mark and I visited the museum with the boys earlier in the fall, but it was Jed’s first visit. So while Heather hosted a film in a nearby building, we toured the museum. It is the kind of place that you can revisit many times as there are so many different exhibits and things to see. The half-size replica of a whaling ship is always the highlight, but all three boys had a great time exploring all of the exhibits.
by Judy Handley | Jan 11, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 83, Year 9: Car Shopping, Weather, and Good News
Date: Saturday, January 11, 2014
Weather: Overcast, VERY Windy with Rain Late; High Temp in the 50’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Heather and Jed have a van and we co-own the 1999 Ford Taurus that we drive. And the Taurus is on its last leg. It is due for inspection and will probably not pass because the ‘check engine’ won’t go off because of a problem with the catalytic converter. So one van and one old car between all of us is just not quite enough. So today Heather, Mark, Sam, and I went car shopping. We decided ahead of time that a Honda Civic or Honda Civic Hybrid was the car we wanted, so it was a one-stop shop at Hyannis Honda. We put a hold on a 2011 Civic with 55,000 miles. It was more expensive than our $10,000 limit, but it is newer and with less miles than we had hoped. We have a couple of days to think about it, but will probably buy this one. When I take the Taurus in for inspection the end of January, we’ll know whether we can continue to use it beyond the end of March or whether we might have to purchase another vehicle, but with the new purchase we’ll be fine until then.
The weather this winter is certainly keeping us entertained. We go from 50 mile per hour winds and snow to temperatures near zero to temps in the 50’s and then 50 mile per hour winds with rain. I guess the best word to describe it is EXTREME. Tonight we were hit with 50 mile per hour winds and driving rain. It has stopped now and actually feels calm. Today it was almost 60 degrees F and it felt warm even with the heavy winds. The forecast is for a few more days with temps in the 40’s, so at least we are being spared the deep freeze for a bit. We are thankful for that, but even more thankful for the really good news today about my sister Patsy in North Carolina. She has been in the hospital since Wednesday with a bowel blockage. They have been draining it, and today the x-rays showed that things are clearing up. This is WONDERFUL news, indeed. She hasn’t eaten since Tuesday evening but she has been getting the essentials via IV. The hope is that she can start on a liquid diet soon and then move on to solids. So she will be in the hospital a few more days, but she is feeling good and her spirits are high. Patsy and Joe, we are thinking of you constantly and sending you our love and our most positive energy.
by Judy Handley | Jan 10, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 82, Year 9: Snow and Drizzle
Date: Friday, January 10, 2014
Weather: Snow Overnight, Overcast with Drizzle All Day, Temp in the 30’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
We had a little snow overnight, just enough to make everything look white and pretty, but it melted away as the day progressed. We continued and still continue to have a drizzle of precipitation. The temperature reached the upper 30’s F today and will remain in the 30’s tonight, warming more tomorrow. But no matter how much the air temperature rises, the water temperature is currently 34 degrees F and a boat sitting in water that cold is hard to heat. We turn the heat down a bit during the day which means that when we return home in the evening the inside temp is around 60 degrees F—not warm. Every evening we turn on the oven and leave the door open to help heat the main cabin and we also turn up the heaters, but sitting around in the evening is a ‘cool’ experience. We’ll endure, but this is not my idea of fun! But we did have fun today. Mark started his day by taking Ollie outside to sweep the snow off the walkway. Ollie loves ‘no’ and he loves sweeping, so he was a happy little boy. Then I took him to the public library for storytime with other little ones his age. He is a serious little participant, listening intently to the teacher and doing everything she asks. He loves the music and the today there was lots of drumming which he really got into. It amazes me how children in the 15 month to 3 year range manage to ignore each other. The sit side-by-side, but not one child there interacted with another. But they did watch each other and by the time they are 3 they will become social butterflies. Oliver’s favorite time at the library is after the organized storytime. He loves going out into the play area in the Children’s Room to play with the doll house with miniature dolls. He likes to put them in their beds and tells them to nap. There are little cloth quilts and he always covers them carefully. He also likes to play with the wooden trains. Today he built a circular track, sat right in the middle, and ran a little engine around and around himself.
Mark went to the doctor this afternoon, at my insistence, to make sure he doesn’t have pneumonia. This cough of his has persisted for weeks now, but his lungs are clear and the doctor isn’t worried. I guess lots of people have post-nasal drip and a cough all winter long. I have had the post-nasal drip without the cough for as long as he has. I think our bodies are just not acclimated to this northern winter weather anymore. Mark is convinced that swimming in warm salt water in Puerto Rico in February will cure all our ills. Let’s hope he is right.
While Mark was at the doctor this afternoon, Ollie and I walked to school to pick up Sam. Sam has a spelling test every Friday, and the words this week were particularly challenging. He has 20 words each week. Twelve of the words are his basic spelling words and the other eight are sight words that he needs to be able to read. He came home with a 100% on this week’s test and he was so very proud. One of the hardest words for him this week was pretty (he wanted to spell it as ‘pritty’), but he got that right as well as ‘anything’ and ‘everything’ and a host of other difficult words. At the end of the week, the students that have had good behavior get a little token prize. This week he chose a plastic hammer so he could give to Oliver. Oliver LOVES ‘hammoos’ and he was a very happy little brother. And Mark and I were very pleased that Sam was so thoughtful. That’s not always the case, but you celebrate the positive when it happens.
by Judy Handley | Jan 9, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 81, Year 9: Pirates and Granola
Date: Thursday, January 9, 2014
Weather: Still Mostly Sunny and Cold (20’s at night, 30’s during the day)
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today was all about pirates and granola. Jonah played the pirate part and Ollie was the granola maker. In last night’s log I bemoaned the fact that I didn’t get photos of Jonah the Pirate yesterday. Well, at 8:30 am this morning he was a fully dressed pirate and ready for the photo shoot. Once he was off to school for the day, Ollie and I launched into a painting project and then we made granola. He used his little push wagon to deliver the ingredients and then we started mixing oats with nuts, coconut, and cinnamon. Next we added the honey and oil. We had oats all over the kitchen floor, but we had a good time. And no worries, we didn’t put those oats back into the bowl!
We continue to struggle with this cold weather, but if the forecasts are accurate, we are at the low point right now and it will just continue to get warmer overnight and into the weekend. Temps in the 40’s and 50’s F will feel mighty good and maybe some of the ice around the boat will start to melt. The bubblers have kept the ice from being solid, but the water is slushy with chunks of ice here and there. I’m hoping we will be ‘slush free’ by Sunday.
by Judy Handley | Jan 8, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 80, Year 9: Still COLD
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Cold (although warmer than yesterday)
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
I’m getting tired of saying that it is cold, so Mark suggested that I say that it is not warm. Whatever, the deep freeze is continuing to thaw and by the weekend we will have temps in the 40’s and 50’s. But that means rain. This winter Cold = Sunshine and Warm = Rain. We’re having difficulty keeping the boat temperature at a normal 68 to 70 degrees F, but we are adjusting by wrapping a sleeping bag around our feet and legs as we sit around in the evening. And since we spend our days at Heather and Jed’s, this arrangement works just fine. Wednesday is the day that Heather doesn’t work, but we went over today to help out. Jonah is now home on Wednesdays, as well as Ollie, and Heather had to be on the air for a short time at noon, so Granddad kept Jonah occupied and I read books to Ollie. I should have gotten photos of Jonah today. When we arrived he was dressed as a pirate and he stayed in character all day long. Heather had taken a red permanent marker and turned Jonah’s white t-shirt into a striped pirate shirt. He put a red felt vest over that and added a wide leather belt, a cardboard sword, and a pirate hat. By evening he had talked Heather into making boots for him as well. Ollie also had a pirate shirt and a cardboard sword and he loved having sword matches with Jonah. It was a fun day.
by Judy Handley | Jan 7, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 79, Year 9: COLD Again
Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Very Cold, and Windy; Currently 10 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
A good way to describe today is that it was simply COLD. The temperature plummeted overnight and this morning it was 14 degrees F with 25-30 knot winds. The wind made it brutally cold out. In fact, it was so cold that we had to drive Sam to school and drive to pick him up this afternoon instead of walking. Looking at the sunshine from inside was deceptive. But the minute you walked outside and into the wind, the cold piercing your skin reminded you that staying inside was a better idea. It is still cold tonight but not quite as windy, and tomorrow will be 10 degrees warmer. So once again we will emerge from the deep freeze . . . at least for few days.
After getting the electric bill for our first two months here at Fiddler’s Cove, we turned down the heaters when we left this morning. But that meant we came home to a boat that was 56 degrees. With the oven on, it is now up to 62 degrees. Getting under the covers is going to feel mighty good tonight.
