by Judy Handley | Nov 13, 2013 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 24, Year 9: Still Cold
Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Weather: Still Cold, High in the 30’s F, Low Tonight in the 20’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
We are still ‘enjoying’ unseasonably cold weather, but the forecast tells us things will start warming up again tomorrow. It was not warm enough today to melt the snow, but hopefully all of the white fluffy stuff will be gone by the end of the day tomorrow. It is beautiful, but I’m more than happy to wait until January or February to see it again.
Wednesday is Heather’s day off so it is not a day when we provide daycare for Ollie. But in September, I offered to come over on Wednesdays to help with the project du jour and today that was getting clothes to two different consignment shops. It takes months to get appointments at these shops here on the Cape, and today we had an 11:30 am appointment at the shop for women’s clothing and a 1:30 pm appointment at Mommy and Me for baby clothes. These shops are very picky. The consignment shop for women’s clothing just doesn’t like our offerings, so that was a wasted trip. But Heather was able to get all of the things she took to Mommy and Me placed on consignment and at the same time bought some clothing for the three boys for Christmas. The word ‘Christmas’ got us all to thinking about our plans for that holiday. Heather and Jed normally spend Christmas with Jed’s parents and they hope to do the same this year. So we’ll have an early Christmas with them before they leave for the holidays. We’d love to fly to Florida to be with Mark’s sister Mary Ellen and her husband Lee when they renew their wedding vows on December 28. But when we checked possible flights tonight, it looks like the only way we could afford to go is to walk. So I think we’ll spend a quiet holiday alone here on Windbird.
by Judy Handley | Nov 12, 2013 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 23, Year 9: Brrrr . . . First Snow
Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Weather: Cold and Snowy, High in the 30’s F, Low Tonight in the 20’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
11-12-13 . . . Snow. Yes, on this 12th day of the 11th month of 2013 we got snow. The calendar tells me it is still fall, but when I go outside, it definitely feels like winter. The forecast prepared us for the below freezing temps we are experiencing tonight, but it did not prepare us for the year’s first snow today. We were supposed to get flurries, nothing that would stick and accumulate, but even as I was listening to this on the radio, there was a blanket of white covering our world this morning. The snow started to fall just after 9 am. Ollie and I sat at his little table in front of the glass sliding doors leading out to the deck and watched the snow falling as we played with Play Doh. But those snowflakes got bigger and bigger and covered the deck with an inch of white fluffy stuff. At this point, I took Ollie out to play in the snow. He called it ‘no’ and it was a riot watching him. He took a step forward and then a step back to examine the imprint in the ‘no’. Then he took two steps forward and two back and again examined his foot prints. He stood there for the longest time and then took off shuffling through the ‘no’. We then went for a walk around the yard. By the time we got back to the deck, Ollie had seen enough. He wanted to go back inside because his little hands were freezing because I was unable to find a pair of mittens for him. I found one polar fleece mitten and one knitted one, but he refused to put on the knitted mitten. And then the polar fleece one fell off. So I gave up. We just weren’t quite ready for playing in the snow this early in the season. The local buzz is that this is going to be snowy, cold winter. And after today, I believe it.
Heather was off to Boston today which meant she wouldn’t get him until 7:30 pm or later. Jed had a Town Meeting that he had to attend tonight, so Mark and I stayed with the boys until Heather got home. When we went to pick Sam up from school, we were invited into the school cafeteria to attend the Fresh Food Market. This is a monthly program sponsored by the school district in conjunction with the Falmouth Service Center. We didn’t participate last month as we thought it was only for low-income families. But they actually want everyone participating with the goal of making fresh foods inviting for all. We let Sam choose which fruits and vegetables we would take home and he chose sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, apples, pears, and kale. He won’t eat any of these things, but because he picked them out today, he said he would ‘try’ some of them. Heather and Jed always cook with fresh veggies, but getting the kids to eat them is another story. So maybe this Fresh Food idea might make a tiny impact on the Goldstone household. When we got home, Sam put on his snow pants, snow boots, and winter coat and went out and literally rolled in the snow. His fort of pine needles and leaves was covered in snow and he just lay down and luxuriated in the white stuff. I was finally able to get him to come in to do this homework by allowing him to bring a bowl of snow to eat. He drizzled maple syrup over it and chowed down and got that homework done. Jonah and Jed didn’t get home until after dark, but Sam went out again with Jonah and they played until dinner time. Jed had to leave right after dinner, and then it bath time. Heather got home before the last boy was out of the tub, but we stayed a bit longer as Sam and Jonah wanted Granddad read to them. Granddad read one book and then Sam read ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ by Dr. Seuss. It’s hard for me to believe that he is old enough to read a book aloud to his little brothers, but he can. Earlier in the evening, Jonah sat on the sofa and read books to Ollie. Jonah’s reading is not literal, but he gets the idea across and Ollie loves it. What joy!
by Judy Handley | Nov 11, 2013 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 22, Year 9: Veterans Day
Date: Monday, November 11, 2013
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy with High Around 50 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Sam came home from school on Friday and reminded us that Veterans Day is not really just a holiday for shopping. His first grade class had been discussing the real reason we observe this holiday and they were asked to find out if there were any Veterans in their family. What Sam found out was that his Granddad (Mark) was in the National Guard in the late 1950’s and spent 6 months in active duty just after high school in 1960. But that did not make him a Veteran. But Mark’s brother Steve, Sam’s great uncle, served in the US Army in Vietnam in the early 1960’s. So I printed a photo of Steve in his fatigues in Vietnam and of Mark in uniform. This satisfied Sam’s desire to properly observe Veterans Day. And it did make all of us think about those who serve their country to protect us. We are very, very grateful for that.
Jed had all three boys this morning since Monday is his day home. Heather had to go to work, so Mark and I went over and took Sam and Jonah to storage with us. That gave Jed time to be with Ollie and us time to go through clothes in storage to find winter clothing. Sam and Jonah ran the long halls of the storage building running off excess energy while kicking soccer balls around. After a bit, I took down a box with Justin’s old Star Wars figures and a Jedi Village so they could play with that. They had a good time and we were successful in finding the winter clothes we are going to need. When we got back to Heather and Jed’s, we had promised Sam and Jonah we would play baseball and soccer with them in the backyard. Molly and Joey, the kids next door, came over to join us. The ‘king’ of singing The Star-bangled Banner, Jonah, led us all in stirring rendition of the song to start the game. Jonah belted out the words while Sam, Molly, and Joey sang along. When it was just about time to yell out ‘Play Ball’, an older gentleman visiting a next door neighbor came walking into the backyard to listen and then thanked the little ones for singing this song for a Veteran. I’m not usually all that patriotic, but this was a special moment.
After our baseball game with the kids, we headed back to Windbird. We did a few boat chores to get the boat ready for the cold weather coming in this week, went for a late afternoon walk, and then enjoyed dinner theater. This is a nice way of saying we watched a video while eating dinner. Life is good.
by Judy Handley | Nov 10, 2013 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 21, Year 9: Lovely Sunday
Date: Sunday, November 10, 2013
Weather: Warm (50+ degrees F) with Sunshine, Then Partly Cloudy, Then Rain
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
The weather definitely went downhill as the day progressed, but we still had a delightful time. By the time we got up (late risers on Sunday morning), it was 51 degrees outside. What a treat. Heather, Jed, and boys came out later in the morning to help us put up the framing for Windbird’s winter plastic cover. Doing this requires climbing up in precarious positions, so we let Heather and Jed do that! After lunch, we went for a nice walk through one of the quiet neighborhoods adjacent to the marina that have only dirt streets and paths that take off through the woods. The total walk was probably just over a mile and little Ollie wanted to walk the whole way. That slowed us down a bit, but it was so much fun watching him wade through the leaves. Toward the end when we got back to the paved road that led us back to the marina, Jed finally picked Ollie up and carried him part of the way, but he still wanted to get down and walk. He is one little trooper. It was a laid back, lovely Sunday. We’ll have to slow down and try this more often.
We talked to our Australian friends, Chris and Geoff this evening. They didn’t make it quite as far as they had hoped yesterday as they had to beat into heavy winds the whole way. They are in a deserted anchorage in Rhode Island and just stayed put today to recover from the beating they took yesterday. Tomorrow they will try to make it a little further west, and they are prepared to take baby steps to New York City as winds from the west (the direction they are headed) are in the forecast most every day.
by Judy Handley | Nov 9, 2013 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 20, Year 9: Puerto Rico in February
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2013
Weather: Same as Yesterday—Sunny, Somewhat Windy, High in the Upper 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Flights are not booked yet, but we have made the decision to go to Puerto Rico for a mid-winter break in February. Heather, Jed, and boys are going as well, so we will have our whole family together. When Mark saw the oncologist here, Dr. Crook, last Wednesday, we asked her if being gone for about ten days in the middle of February would work with his chemo schedule and she reassured us that it was actually perfect timing. He will end chemo treatments on the 15th of January, have a PET scan at Mass General at the end of the month, and then have surgery the end of February. They want to give him a break after chemo to regenerate before the surgery, so the vacation works out great. No matter how cold and miserable it might get between now and the middle of February, we will just grin and bear it and think of days on the beach with grandkids around Valentine’s Day. I LOVE it.
Our hearty Australian friends, Chris and Geoff, left Quissett Harbor this morning. They sent a text message letting us know that they motored out and then sailed hard on the wind at 5 knots with wind gusts up to 25 knots. We did not hear from them tonight which makes me think they are probably in an anchorage without phone service. It is going to get quite cold this week in all of New England, so no matter how far they go toward their goal of New York City, it is going to be chilly. I love cruising, but not in cold weather. So we’re sending warm thoughts to Chris and Geoff.
This morning we slept in and after breakfast, we went out to work on getting the boat ready to be covered for the winter. We took down the staysail and removed the water and fuel jerry jugs from the deck. We extended our spinnaker pole that is attached to mast and tied the other end down on the front of the bow pulpit. It will serve as the forward ‘ridge pole’ for the plastic covering. We’re having our yearly battle with birds that roost on the top of the mast and leave their ‘presence’ on the deck and on the top of the canvas cockpit cover. Every day or so, we have to spray down everything and today was one of those days. After I washed down the deck, I went forward to put the hose over the front of the boat so I could wash down some things on the dock. I bent over to put the hose forward and when I came up, I banged the right side of my face right into the newly placed spinnaker pole. Ouch! But that wasn’t the worst of it. When I finished washing down things on the dock, I went back up on the deck of the boat to pull the hose back up and coil it. After doing this, I raised up and really bashed the left side of my face. I hit my glasses so hard that it knocked the lens loose. Hopefully I don’t end up with a black eye, but thankfully I survived.
by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2013 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 19, Year 9: Farewell to Shambala . . . Maybe
Date: Friday, November 8, 2013
Weather: Sunny and Somewhat Windy, High in the Upper 40’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Chris and Geoff came over to Heather and Jed’s house this afternoon to say their farewells. Getting a favorable weather window for sailing west from here to New York City just isn’t happening, so they are going tomorrow when the winds from the west will be less than predicted for the next week. They will leave tomorrow morning, but if it is too miserable out there they will simply turn around and come back. So that is the ‘maybe’ part of the subject line. We love having them close-by, but they have no heat and the nights here are getting chilly. I’m not sure it will be any warmer in New York, but once they arrive there and do some sightseeing, they can then continue on to the Chesapeake Bay. And it should be warmer there. Once they arrive in Norfolk, they will be in a marina for the winter and they will figure out a way to get heat in the boat. In the meantime, we hope for their sakes that the temps stay somewhat moderate.
Heather was out doing field work yesterday and last night noticed that she had a deer tick attached to her stomach. She tried to remove it, but she couldn’t get the head out. I would have thought that the cooler weather would have meant the end of tick season, but not so. There are no nymphs (which are so tiny that they are a true challenge to find), but the adults persist well into the winter months. The only good thing about this is that they are large enough to be noticed so they are usually spotted and removed before Lyme disease is transmitted. Heather went to see her primary care physician today and was told that there is nothing that can be done right now. They will wait for six weeks and then do blood tests. But since she is almost certain that she got the tick yesterday, it wasn’t on her long enough to be a problem. Still, you wait and do the testing just in case.
